Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Washington Nationals vs Tampa Bay Rays: Can the Nats end their losing streak?

The Washington Nationals and the Tampa Bay Rays will play their second game of the series today at Tropicana Field.

The Nationals have lost the last four games

The Washington Nationals are fourth in the NL East with a 38-43 record, including 21-24 on the road. They came into the series after being swept by the San Diego Padres and lost the opener to the Rays. Washington has a 4.01 ERA, a .251 batting average, a .313 on-base percentage, and 1.29 walks plus hits per inning pitched. CJ Abrams is the best player on the team, with 82 hits, 48 runs, and 12 home runs for the season.

The Rays are at .500

The Tampa Bay Rays are fourth in the AL East with a 41-41 record and 19-20 at home. They have won 4 of their last 5 games and came into this series after a 2-1 series win over the Seattle Mariners. Tampa Bay has a 4.35 ERA, a .243 batting average, a .313 on-base percentage, and 1.29 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Yandy Diaz leads the team with 90 hits, Jose Caballero is on top with 31 runs, and Isaac Paredes has 12 home runs.

Betting Trends

The Rays are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games overall, 11-4 SU in their last 15 games against teams from the NL, and 9-2 SU in their last 11 games against teams from the NL East. Tampa Bay has played under the total run line in 4 of their last 6 games overall, 5 of their last 7 games at home, and 5 of their last 6 games against Washington. The Nationals are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games overall, 1-4 SU in their last 5 games on the road, and 1-4 SU in their last 5 games against teams from the AL East. They have played under the total run line in 4 of their last 6 games against teams from the AL and over in 5 of their last 7 games overall.

Prediction and Conclusion

Both teams have quite a good record, but given the competition in their divisions, that is far from promising. The Rays won last night 3-1 in a pretty slow game, which is their fourth straight win over Washington after sweeping the series last season in DC. The Rays will have Aaron Civale today on the mound, who is 2-5 for the season with a 5.20 ERA, 82 K, 81.1 IP, and 1.35 WHIP. The Nationals will start one of their best pitchers this season, Jake Irvin, who is 5-6 for the season with a 3.13 ERA, 81 K, 92 IP, and 1.09 WHIP. After losing the last four games, this looks like a real opportunity for the Nationals to win, so we go with them tonight.