Washington vs Miami Pro Baseball Betting Preview and Pick

The Washington Nationals will look to ‘flex their muscles’ and deliver a message when they host the rebuilding Miami Marlins in an intriguing pairing on Saturday that I believe is offering baseball bettors everywhere a ton of value. The Nationals’ Joe Ross and the Marlins’ Tom Koehler will take to the mound in a match up of right-handers that their respective ball clubs are both depending on heavily this season. Now, let’s find out why this game is offering so much MLB lines value.

How To Bet The Marlins @ Nationals MLB Odds, TV & Game Info

When: Saturday, April 9 – 4:05 PM EST Where: Nationals Park, Washington, District of Columbia TV: FS-F, MASN Radio: Marlins and Nationals TV Stream: FoxSportsGo Probable Starters: Nationals: Joe Ross vs. Marlins: Tom Koehler MLB Odds: TBA

Why Bet the Miami Marlins

Because they have consistent success behind their starter in this one! Miami snapped a two-game losing streak against Detroit to open the season by beating Washington 6-4 on Thursday night. Now, they’ll turn to right-hander Tom Koehler to get the win in this one. The 29-year-old right-hander went 11-14 with a 4.08 ERA in 2015 and is the Marlins’ second most experienced starter (535 career innings), behind recent signing Wei-Yin Chen (711 2/3 innings). Koehler said he is excited heading into his first start and confident with where he is with his delivery. “I feel good, strong, healthy, that’s the most important thing,” Koehler said. “I like where my stuff is right now. I feel like if I go into those games with a good mix, and a good plan, we should be successful.” Koehler has been Miami’s most durable starter the past two seasons and tossed a team-high 187.1 innings in 2015. He was struck by a comebacker on the elbow late in Spring Training, but has been deemed fully healthy. The bad news is that Koehler struggled against Washington last season while posting a miserable 5.33 ERA in four starts. Not only that, but the 12 home runs Koehler has given up to Washington are twice as many as he has allowed to any other team. Washington’s Bryce Harper has homered five times in 26 plate appearances against Koehler, including three times last May 6. Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman have gone deep off Koehler two times apiece. The good news is that the Marlins are 8-1 in their last nine games against their NL East division rivals and 5-1 in Koehler’s last six starts.

Why Bet the Washington Nationals

Because they’ve got the better overall ballclub! Washington had their two-game winning streak snapped in their 6-4 loss to Miami on Thursday and now they’ll turn to right-hander Joe Ross to get the ‘W’ in this matchup. Ross will kick off his first full season in Washington trying to build on an impressive rookie season in which he went 5-5 with a solid 3.64 ERA in 16 games including 13 starts after being called up from Double-A for a spot start. Saturday will mark Ross’ first start against the Marlins. He faced Miami twice in relief last year, allowing two hits and no runs in 1.2 innings. The Nationals are 4-0 in their last four Saturday games, 5-1 in their last six games against a right-handed starter and a perfect 4-0 in Ross’ last four home starts.

My Expert Prediction and Pick

Miami may have opened this series with a win over Washington but they won’t get another in this contest! The Marlins are just 8-22 in their last 30 road games against Washington and 1-4 in Tom Koehler’s last five road starts against the Nationals. Conversely, the Nationals are 5-2 in their last seven games against their NL East division rivals and a perfect 5-0 in Joe Ross’ last five starts against a team with a losing record. My final score prediction Washington 6 Miami 3