Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Kansas City Royals vs Washington Nationals: Can the Royals stop the freefall?

The Kansas City Royals are visiting the Washington Nationals tonight at Nationals Park.

The Royals season is slipping away

The Kansas City Royals are second in the AL Central with an 82-74 record, including 37-38 on the road. They have lost the last seven games and are coming off scoring only one run in a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants. Kansas City has a 3.86 ERA, a .241 batting average, a .309 on-base percentage, and 1.25 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Bobby Witt Jr. is the best player on the team with 206 hits, 124 runs, and 32 home runs.

The Nationals are already focused on the off-season

The Washington Nationals are fourth in the NL East with a 69-87 record, including 36-39 at home. They have lost 6 of the last 7 games and are coming off a 5-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs. Washington has a 4.34 ERA, a .257 batting average, a .320 on-base percentage, and 1.34 walks plus hits per inning pitched. CJ Abrams is the best player on the team, with 133 hits, 79 runs, and 20 home runs for the season.

Betting Trends

The Nationals are 1-6 SU in their last 7 games overall and 5-13 SU in their last 18 games played on Tuesday. Washington has played under the total run line in 7 of their last 10 games overall, 4 of their last 5 games against the Royals, 4 of their last 5 home games and 5 of their last 6 home games against Kansas City. The Royals are 0-7 SU in their last 7 games overall, 1-4 SU in their last 5 games against the Nationals, 3-8 SU in their last 11 games on the road and 1-4 SU in their last 5 games against teams from the NL. Kansas City has played under the total run line in 4 of their last 5 games overall.

Prediction and Conclusion

Both teams are in terrible shape lately and are going into this game after failing to score a single run in the last one. That is not a particular problem for the Nationals, who have been out of the playoff race, but the Royals are letting the season slip away. They have lost the last seven games but somehow still have 67.3% of making it to the playoffs. In order to do that, they need to pick themselves up immediately and win today in DC. The Royals will start Cole Ragans, who is 11-9 for the season with a 3.24 ERA, 217 K (fourth in the MLB), 180.1 IP, and 1.15 WHIP. The Nationals will go with rookie Mitchell Parker, who has a solid season being 7-10 with a 4.44 ERA, 128 K, 146 IP, and 1.30 WHIP. Given the recent form, there are not many reasons to go with the Royals. They failed to score a single run in the last two games, but with the Ragans on the mound and the state of emergency they are in, we go with the Royals to win.