If your favorite baseball team isn't playing tonight, make the games more interesting by betting on MLB odds at BookMaker Sportsbook! This is the only online wagering outlet that offers early MLB moneylines, runlines and totals. First pitch for the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals is scheduled for Sunday, September 17, 2017, at8:08 p.m. ETat Nationals Park. The matchup will be broadcast live on ESPN.
A series win for the Los Angeles Dodgers is certainly a welcome sight, but they’re not out of the woods, yet. A couple wins against the last-place Giants is a positive sign, but they’ll now have to prove their yips are behind them against a much more formidable Washington Nationals team. A good series by Washington could bring the Nationals much closer to a home field advantage. For now, the Dodgers hold the edge for that.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
A couple of wins are nice. L.A. is coming off two straight wins for the first time since August 25. It may not seem like much, but for a team that had lost 11 straight and was 1-16 in the previous 17 games, it’s a great, positive sign.
Washington has been a much more predictable team lately. With the Dodgers’ fall from grace, the Nationals suddenly find themselves as the NL favorite to win it all. Injuries have been a plague on this team, but they’ve persevered through it. They’re a complete team now, too. The rebuilt bullpen has given this team a lot more confidence.
These two teams faced off in a three-game series earlier this year with the Nationals taking two of three on the road in La La Land. That was when the Dodgers were playing better.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
It’s not just the records over the last couple weeks that gives the Nationals’ an advantage in their prime-time showdown against the Dodgers on Sunday. The pitching matchup also greatly favors the team from the Nation’s Capital.
On Sunday, the Nationals will give the ball to Steven Strasburg. The 28-year old right-hander is 13-4 with a 2.64 ERA and 1.028 WHIP in his 25 starts. Injuries have always been an issue for the talented hurler, but when he’s been healthy, he’s been one of the game’s better pitchers.
While Strasburg has thrown well all year, he’s been basically lights out since coming off the DL in mid-August. In five starts, he’s allowed two runs. In the last four starts, he’s strung together 29 scoreless innings, allowing only 17 hits and three walks. He’s also struck out 33 batters. Overall, he’s now thrown 34 straight scoreless frames.
In his only start against Los Angeles earlier this year, Strasburg went six innings, allowing two runs—one earned. He eventually took the loss in that game as he matched up against Clayton Kershaw.
Strasburg’s matchup is more favorable on Sunday. A different lefty is slated to start in the series finale as Hyun-Jin Ryu will take the ball.
This will be Ryu’s first start in 10-days after getting skipped last time through the order. The lefty is coming off a series of serious injuries that cost him all but 4.2 innings in the last two years. Given the limited innings prior to this year, L.A. is being careful with a lefty who has already thrown 117.2 innings.
Ryu has put together a good year. He’s only 5-7, but has a 3.59 ERA. His WHIP and FIP, however, are a bit high. Luck has been kind to him, but he’s still a solid arm.
Ryu is coming off a good start, allowing one run in six innings against Arizona his last time out. That was his fifth start allowing no more than a single run in his last seven games. He’s throwing well, but not to the level of Strasburg.
LIVE BETTING
Offensively, both the Dodgers and Nationals have plenty of options. L.A. added Curtis Granderson to an already loaded roster. He’s had a rough time transitioning at the dish, but is a veteran big league hitter. He’s also a great clubhouse presence.
Between Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager and Justin Turner there are three players with an OPS+ of at least 130. That doesn’t even include Chris Taylor’s great season nor does it consider Yasiel Puig’s bounce back.
Despite all the thump and depth, the offense has staggered. In September, no NL team has scored fewer runs than L.A.
Washington’s offense has slowed in September, too, but has outperformed the Dodgers’ bats.
The Nationals feel the loss of Bryce Harper, but there’s enough there without him to be a potent threat from top-to-bottom.
QUICK PICK
Strasburg is at the top of his game right now and will try and keep his scoreless streak intact.
Look for the righty to give up a run or two with the streak coming to an end, but he’s still the better bet when compared to Ryu in the rotation.
After the starters, Washington’s bullpen has been throwing better than the Dodgers’, too. The mid-season acquisitions have really paid off.
Bank on the National’s heart of the order around Daniel Murphy, Ryan Zimmerman and Anthony Rendon scoring enough to give the Nationals a win at home while sending Los Angeles back into the loss column.
MLB Odds: Nationals 6, Dodgers 3
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