Los Angeles Dodgers vs Washington Nationals -210; T: 7

We have the Dodgers visiting the Nationals tonight in what should be an interesting matchup since we have Max Scherzer on the mound. This could’ve been a playoff preview with what we expected out of these teams coming into the year, but the Dodgers have been hit with a number of injuries, and are starting to fall behind. Scherzer comes in as a -220 favorite, which is the largest on the slate, and it’s for good reason. He is arguably the best pitcher in the league, and comes in with a 35% strikeout rate, along with a 16% swinging strike rate.

The Nationals as a team have an implied run total set at 4.47, which isn’t highest on the slate but also isn’t the lowest. Their offense has seen a nice boost with the return of Anthony Rendón , along with the resurgence of Mark Reynolds . Tonight they are up against Ross Stripling , who is a reliever turned starter due to the injuries on the Dodgers. He is giving up a .325 wOBA to righties this season and a .276 wOBA to lefties, but this is all from a smaller sample size, so take it with a grain of salt. Stripling also has a 24% strikeout rate, a 6% walk rate, and only giving up 27% hard contact rate. Those are some solid numbers so far this year, and he has looked strong in his three starts. He has only allowed six earned runs while striking out 14 hitters in 13 IP as a starter. The question becomes, who do you trust more, the Nationals offense or a “new” starter who has shown some strong consistent this season?

For the Dodgers offense, they are in one of the toughest spots you could imagine and have the possibility of being shut out tonight. If there is any pitcher in the league who you could say is able to toss a shutout, it has to be Scherzer. The Dodgers come in with an implied run total sitting at 2.53, which is the absolute lowest on the slate. Besides that, their offense has been very lackluster this season, but they did get Justin Turner back, which should be a boost. Taking the Dodgers offense in this game is clearly the contrarian play, but there can be something gained from that if they are able to produce above their expected output.

It should be noted that this game has some serious weather concerns tonight, so be ready to pivot depending on what we see in terms of delays or postponements as the game gets closer. 

PRE-GAME PROPS

1.)  Each team has a batter reach any 3-ball count in the first inning

I’m going with no on this one. Throughout the season we have seen Max Scherzer rarely fall behind in the count, and he is able to work quickly and efficiently when on the mound. Don’t see this one happening to start the game.

2.)  Either team has 2 or more batters see 5 or more pitches in the 1st inning.

This one is a yes for me, and it should be noted that this isn’t the “opposite” of the first question. We can see batters foul a bunch of pitches off, but still, never reach a three-ball count. So I’m on board for this one and hopefully each team can come out and fight off a few pitches early.

3.)  Either team hits for extra bases in the 1st inning

This one is a tougher one since I think it’s a hard no for any of the Dodgers players to snag an extra-base hit against Scherzer. On the other side, the Nationals will have Trea Turner , Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendón at the top of the lineup, all of which are capable of hitting for extra bases. I’m going with yes on this one and should be pretty straightforward.

4.)  M. Scherzer (WSH) Strikes out only 1 batter in the 1st inning

What a question we have here, oh boy. Scherzer striking out ONLY one batter is truly tough, because we could easily see him strike out the side with little effort. I’m really back and forth on this one, but I’m going with no. I think he was have more than one strikeout in the first.

5.)  A LAD batter sees exactly 5 pitches in a plate appearance in the 1st inning

This one is somewhat tied to question number two, where they asked if two batters will see five or more. This one is asking if it will be exactly five pitches. There is no real way to hedge these against each other, so if I said yes for the first one, I’ll stay on the same path with a yes here.

6.)  The WSH infield records or assists on 2 or more outs in the top of the 1st inning

This question can go against question four, if you think Scherzer will have more than one strikeout, than the infielders won’t need to record any outs. I said I’ll take the over on Scherzer having more than one strikeout, so I’m going with no for this one.