Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Los Angeles Angels vs Washington Nationals: Can the Angels avoid being swept?

The Los Angeles Angels are visiting the Washington Nationals today at Nationals Park in DC.

Can the Angels save the season?

The Los Angeles Angels are fourth in the AL West with a 51-66 record, including 25-31 on the road. After winning back-to-back games against the Yankees on the road, they lost the first two in Washington. The Angels have a 4.50 ERA, a .237 batting average, a .320 on-base percentage, and 1.31 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Zach Neto is the best player on the team with 104 hits, 53 runs, and 17 home runs for the season.

The Nationals have played an extra inning in the last three games

The Washington Nationals are fourth in the NL East with a 54-64 record, including 28-31 at home. After losing the last two games in the series against the Giants, they won the last two against the Angels. Washington has a 4.35 ERA, a .256 batting average, a .317 on-base percentage, and 1.32 walks plus hits per inning pitched. CJ Abrams is the best player on the team, with 108 hits, 69 runs, and 17 home runs for the season.

Betting Trends

The Nationals are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games against the Angels and 4-1 SU in their last 5 games against teams from the AL West. Washington has played under the total run line in 8 of their last 12 games against the Angels, in 4 of their last 6 games against teams from the AL and in 6 fo their last 8 games played on Sunday, while they have gone over in 10 of their last 15 games overall. The Angels are 6-3 SU in their last 9 games on the road and 1-4 SU in their last 5 visits to DC. Los Angeles has played under the total run line in 4 of their last 6 games against teams from the NL East and in 6 of their last 9 games as underdogs.

Prediction and Conclusion

Interestingly, both previous games of this series went into the extra inning, and the Nationals won them both, 5-4 and 3-2. The Nationals will start with MacKenzie Gore on the mound, who is 7-9 for the season with a 4.66 ERA, 128 K, 116 IP, and 1.53 WHIP. The Angels will try to end the losing streak with rookie Jack Kochanowicz, who is 0-2 for the season with a 14.14 ERA, 5 K, 7 IP, and 2.43 WHIP. It is tough to beat a team for a third straight time after two close ones, but the Nationals have a pitcher who has been a regular in the lineup and has won seven games for the team, while the Angels are starting a rookie who is still just trying to hang in there. Given that, we go with the Nationals to sweep the series.