The Arizona Diamondbacks (18-14, 9-6 home) continue a three-game series against the visiting Washington Nationals (13-19, 7-7 away) over the weekend. Arizona opened up play with a 3-1 triumph over the Nationals thanks to a dominant pitching effort by Merrill Kelly. The two teams will wrap up series play on Sunday.
The first pitch of Saturday’s contest is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. EST inside Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. Arizona is the betting favorite (-145 moneyline), while the over/under total is 9.5 runs.
What to Know – Washington Nationals
Washington won three of four against the Chicago Cubs before heading out west and dropping the series opener. The Nationals find themselves in last place in the NL East, 8.5 games back of the leading Atlanta Braves.
Left-hander MacKenzie Gore (3-2, 3.77 ERA, 1.42 WHIP) gets the start for Washington. Gore makes his second start of the month looking to improve to 4-2 on the season. Through six starts, the 24-year-old has pitched 31.0 innings, allowing 13 earned runs on 26 hits and 18 walks while striking out 39 batters.
On offense, Washington ranks 15th in the majors hitting .247 as a team while scoring 3.6 runs per game. The Nationals pitching staff also sits 15th amongst league teams featuring a 4.29 team earned run average.
The Nationals have gotten production from various spots in the lineup as Washington continues to rebuild the roster. CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia are tied with a team-high 15 runs batted in while Jeimer Candelario leads the roster with four home runs.
What to Know – Arizona Diamondbacks
The Diamondbacks continue their hot start to the seasons and have stayed toe-to-toe with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the standings. Arizona is a half-game back of the Dodgers and holds a half-game lead over the Padres in the NL West race.
Tommy Henry (1-0, 6.52 ERA, 1.66 WHIP) earns his third start of the year. The 25-year-old lefty made his season debut toward the end of April and has stayed in the rotation after the Diamondbacks designated Madison Bumgarner for assignment. Henry has a pair of starts, pitching 9.2 innings, surrendering seven earned runs, 11 hits, five walks, and four strikeouts.
The Diamondbacks offense sits sixth in the MLB with a .264 team batting average and score 5.1 runs per game. Arizona’s pitching staff is 22nd in the league sporting a 4.76 team ERA.
The bat of Christian Walker has been hot lately, picking up three straight games of multiple hits and bumping his average from .255 to .272. Walker leads the lineup with seven home runs and 25 RBIs. Youngster Corbin Carroll is back in the lineup and healthy, leading Arizona with 21 runs scored and ten stolen bases.
The Pick is In
The pitching matchup doesn’t stand out on paper in this one with two arms that haven’t lit up the stat sheet in the early going.
Expect a high-scoring contest with the Diamondbacks pulling out the victory late in the contest behind strong hitting from the top of the order.
The Pick: Arizona Diamondbacks ML
