Washington Nationals at Miami Marlins MLB Betting Preview

Posted by Alex Murphy on Thursday,September 10, 2015 1:00, EDT in

You never want to put too much stock in a single series, but the reality is that at this stage of the season, a single series may well be what makes or breaks your team’s playoff chances. If that is indeed the case, then the Washington Nationals are going to look at their last series with the New York Mets as the one that did them in. The Nats will try to pick up the pieces when they travel to Miami to face the Marlins on Friday where they’re -150 baseball betting favorites.

Washington Nationals at Miami Marlins MLB Betting Preview & TV Info

Date: Friday, September 11, 2015
Time: 7:10PM
Venue: Marlins Park
Opening Line: Washington -150

Just a few short days ago, all the talk was that the Mets were on the brink of folding, and that the Washington Nationals (71-68) were going to close the lead at the top of the NL East. The Mets ended up delivering the sweep, and have now opened up a 7-game lead that looks unassailable at this point.

The Nationals still have to be wondering how it ended up this way, because they looked in total control of 2 of the 3 games in the series. The straw that broke the camel’s back came in the second game of the series, where the Nats somehow gassed a 6 run lead in the 8th inning of the ball game. The unfortunate thing for this team is that they have had some stellar performances this year, especially from Bryce Harper, who has to be a candidate for MVP. Gio Gonzalez (10-7, 3.96 ERA) is coming off a quality start his last time out.

While the Nats might believe that a series against the Miami Marlins (59-81) might be just what the doctor ordered, they would be wise to tread carefully. The Marlins are 7-3 in their last 10, and managed to take 2 of 3 from the Mets during that stretch. Miami is also a much better ball club in their own park, and are just 4 games under .500 there, which is not that bad when you consider where their overall record is sitting. The one thing that jumps out about the recent play of the Marlins is how good they have looked defensively. If they can continue to play it tight, they might just frustrate a Washington team that is desperate for wins. Brad Hand (4-5, 5.20 ERA) has not played well recently, and has yielded 12 earned runs in his last 2 starts.

Key Online Betting Trends

Washington is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington’s last 6 games
Miami is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Miami’s last 6 games
Miami is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games at home

Consider This Before Placing Your Bet

Washington cannot afford any more slip-ups, and they realistically need to start sweeping some teams coming down the stretch. They can get this series off to a start in this one, as Hand has looked fragile on the mound in his last couple of outings.