In this Cardinals at Nationals prediction, the Cardinals travel to DC to kick off a weekend series with the Nationals. The Cardinals are currently tied with Cincinnati in third place in the NL Central, while the Nationals find themselves in fourth place in the NL East. The series opener will feature Cardinals’ righty Erick Fedde (2-3, 4.78) taking on Nationals’ southpaw Mitchell Parker (3-2, 3.48). The first pitch is scheduled for 6:45 PM EST. Read on for more in this Cardinals/Nationals prediction, and grab our top MLB predictions to increase your bankroll!
St. Louis hopes to end road woes
The Cardinals arrive in DC sporting a record of 19-19 on the season, thanks to a five-game winning streak. The streak includes a sweep of the Pirates to start the week. On Wednesday night, the Cardinals completed the sweep with a 5-0 win over the Bucs. Starter Sonny Gray was outstanding, striking out eight and allowing just two hits in seven scoreless innings. The Cardinals' offense was led by Masyn Winn, who had two RBI doubles, and Lars Nootbaar, with three hits. Gray improves to 4-1 with the win.
The Cardinals are back to .500 overall with a 19-19 record, but still have a lot to prove on the road. They come into this series with just a 4-13 record away from Busch Stadium. They’ll send righty Erick Fedde to the hill in the series opener. Fedde is 2-3 in seven starts this season, including four quality starts. He has an ERA of 4.78 and a WHIP of 1.46. Fedde has allowed 34 hits in 37.2 innings of work. He has 21 walks on the season and just 21 strikeouts. In his last start, a 6-5 win over the Mets at home, Fedde went five innings and allowed six hits and three runs while walking five batters and striking out four. The Cardinals are 1-4 in Fedde’s last five starts heading into Friday night’s game.
Key Injuries: SP Quinn Matthews and RP Zack Thompson are out.
Nationals look to end skid
The Nationals welcome the red-hot Cardinals into town on Friday night, hoping to start a hot streak of their own. The Nats are now 17-21 on the season after dropping each of the last two games of their series with the Guardians to open the week. They dropped the series finale on Wednesday afternoon, 8-6. The Nationals led 3-0 before watching the Guardians score the game’s next eight runs. They rallied for three more runs, but it was too little, too late. Starter Michael Soroka went five innings, allowing five hits and four runs while walking two and striking out eight. CJ Abrams, Amed Rosario, and James Wood all had three hits in a losing effort.
The Nationals will attempt to build another winning streak, starting on Friday night against the Cardinals. The Nationals have played well at home this season with a 10-9 record at Nationals Park. They will send out well-rested Mitchell Parker in game one against the Cardinals. The lefty will be fresh after being given an additional day off after last pitching a week ago. Mitchell is 3-2 on the season in seven starts, including five quality starts. He has an ERA of 3.48 and a WHIP of 1.21 while allowing 30 hits in 41.1 innings of work. Parker has struggled with his command, walking 21 batters while striking out 20. In his last outing, a 6-1 loss at Cincinnati, he allowed four hits and five runs in just four innings of work while walking four and striking out just one. The Nationals are 3-2 in Parker’s last five starts.
Key Injuries: RP Orlando Ribalta, SP Cade Cavalli, and RP Derek Law are out.
Best Bets for St. Louis Cardinals vs. Washington Nationals
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
While coming into this series hot, the Cards have struggled on the road with just a 4-13 record. They’ll also have to deal with Parker, working on a full week’s rest on Friday night. Parker already has five quality starts in his first seven starts this year, and the Nationals are 3-2 in his last five starts. The Cardinals’ road woes can be attributed, to some degree, to the team’s inability to hit away from home. They are hitting just .228 on the road this season despite hitting .260 overall. The Nationals are 10-9 at home this season and will continue the Cardinals’ trend of struggling on the road with a win on Friday night.
Take the Nationals with the money line.
Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
The Nationals have scored an average of over 7.5 runs per game in each of Parker’s last three wins this season. As a team, they have gone over the total in four of their last five games. As for the Cardinals, they have gone over the number in two of Fedde’s last three starts. They have also gone over the number in three of their last five games. I’m going with the trends on Friday night.
Â
Take the over.
Want a second opinion on this pick?
For another opinion on this game, check out St. Louis Cardinals vs. Washington Nationals Prediction from Statsalt, our partner site.
