The Nationals had put a nice little run together, winners of 6 of the previous 7 including four in a row. That was before Thursday night’s series opening 4-5 loss to the Padres however. The Nationals had jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the 1st but were unable to keep San Diego at bay. That makes the June 7th MLB free betting pick interesting as oddsmakers are calling Friday’s game at Petco nearly a toss-up (WAS -109, SD -103).
Can Nationals Get Back to Their Winning Ways?
The Nationals had won 6 of 7 prior to Friday’s loss and that includes 4 of 5 on the road at Atlanta and Cincinnati. Washington had a great chance to make it 5 wins in a row in the series opener vs. San Diego after jumping out to a 4-0 lead on the heels of a Brian Dozier home run. San Diego scored the next 5 to get the win however. Can Washington rebound in the June 7th MLB free betting pick? That might be a tough order as only Gerardo Parra has faced the Padres Friday night starter. Washington has scored 4+ in 7 of the last 8, but the O/U for Game 2 of the series is 9, up from 7.5 in game 1.
Washington turns to their own relatively inexperience starter on the hill Friday night as Erick Fedde takes the mound. The right-hander made his 2019 debut against San Diego at the end of April, allowing just 2 hits over 4 IP in a relief appearance. He has been moved into the starting role the last 3 outings and Fedde has thrived, allowing just 3ER total. He doesn’t pitch very deep though (5.0 IP is longest outing) so for Washington to get the win their bullpen had better be solid.
San Diego Has Momentum Going
The Padres received a spark on Thursday as Fernando Tatis, Jr. returned to the lineup after missing a month with injury. The prized rookie didn’t look rusty at all, going 1-2 from the leadoff spot while drawing two walks. San Diego is hoping the return of Tatis can take some pressure off of Manny Machado, who has gone just 3 for his last 27 (.111). There are other Padres batters stepping up however and San Diego is playing much better than their #26 ranked scoring offense shows as of late. Both Hunter Renfroe and Franmil Reyes have hit 4 HR over their last 6 games.
The reason the June 7th MLB free betting pick O/U is a bit higher than Thursday night’s affair is not only because the Padres offense is clicking, but because their starting pitcher Nick Margevicius is not. The rookie left-hander could be pitching for his job vs. Washington as San Diego is going back to the 5-man rotation instead of 6 starting next week. Margevicius would seem to be the odd man out as he has allowed 4, 6, and 5 ER in his last 3 starts never pitching out of the 5th inning.
June 7th MLB Free Betting Pick
Both pitchers are likely overmatched in this one. Margevicius needs to be in the minors to hone his craft while Fedde has pitched well, but is still finding his way as a starter after coming out of the bullpen for the first part of the year. On paper, all this means the offenses should thrive at Petco on Friday night.
MLB Free Betting Pick: Nationals / Padres *Over* 9
