Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

San Diego Padres vs Washington Nationals: Can the Padres keep on rolling?

The San Diego Padres are looking to extend their winning streak when they visit the Washington Nationals at the series opener at Nationals Park.

The Padres have the longest active winning streak in the NL

The San Diego Padres are second in the NL West with a 54-50 record and 28-22 on the road. The Padres have won the last four games, two against the Guardians and the first two of the series against the Nationals. The Padres have a 4.08 ERA, a .242 batting average, a .306 on-base percentage, and 1.29 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Jurickson Profar leads the team with 108 hits, Ha-Seong Kim is on top with 54 runs and Fernando Tatis Jr. with 14 home runs.

The Nats need to step up

The Washington Nationals are fourth in the NL East with a 47-55 record, including 23-26 at home. After sweeping the Cincinnati Reds in a three-game series, the Nationals lost the first two in the series to the Padres. Washington has a 4.13 ERA, a .250 batting average, a .312 on-base percentage, and 1.29 walks plus hits per inning pitched. CJ Abrams is the best player on the team, with 98 hits, 60 runs, and 15 home runs for the season.

Betting Trends

The Nationals are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games overall and 0-5 SU in their last 5 games against teams from the NL West. Washington has played over the total run line in 5 of their last 7 games overall, in 5 of their last 6 games against San Diego, and in 6 of their last 9 home games but has gone under in all of their last 8 games played on Thursday. The Padres are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games overall, 5-0 SU in their last 5 games against the Nationals, 6-1 SU in their last 7 games on the road and 5-1 SU in their last 6 visits to DC. San Diego has played under in 4 of their last 5 games overall and has gone over in 12 of their last 15 games against teams from the NL.

Prediction and Conclusion

The San Diego Padres are one of the hottest teams in the league at the moment, winning the last four games and not allowing a single run in two of those. They are absolutely dominating the Nationals so far in the series, winning the first two games by 4-0 and 12-3 last night. The Padres will start Dylan Cease today, who is 9-8 for the season with a 3.76 ERA, 159 K, 122 IP, and 1.03 WHIP. The Nationals will give a shot to veteran Patrick Corbin, who is 2-9 for the season with a 5.35 ERA, 79K, 111 IP, and 1.49 WHIP. The Padres are just too good at the moment and will close out the series with a win.