Angels vs. Nationals Preview
August 9, 2024
The Los Angeles Angels and Washington Nationals open their weekend series in D.C. this Friday night. The Angels and Nationals are both in fourth place in their respective divisions, the AL West and NL East Divisions.
The pitching matchup on Friday night will feature the Angels’ righty Jose Soriano (6-7, 3.47) taking on Nationals’ southpaw Mitchell Parker (6-6, 4.06).
Los Angeles Angels
The Angels are in the midst of another lost season in 2024. The team is well on its way to the 9th consecutive losing season. They have failed to make the playoffs since 2014 despite having the AL MVP in four of those seasons, Mike Trout (2016, 2019) and Shohei Ohtani (2021, 2023). This season, both former MVPs have been missing in action with Trout recently officially ruled out for the season with a knee injury and Ohtani signing with the Dodgers this offseason.
The Angels will hand the ball to righty Jose Soriano in game one of this weekend’s set with the Nationals. Soriano has been arguably the Angels’ most consistent starter this season with a 6-7 record in 20 starts including eight quality starts. Soriano has an ERA of 3.47 and a respectable 1.21 WHIP while allowing just 84 hits in 103.2 innings of work.
**Key Injuries:** CF Mike Trout, RP Adam Cimber, and RP Andrew Wantz are out.
Washington Nationals
The Nationals have settled back down the standing in the NL East Division after briefly flirting with the idea of a third-place finish. The Nats have fallen behind the surging Mets and it appears that they will finish below .500 for the fifth consecutive season since winning the World Series in 2019.
The Nationals will go with rookie lefty Mitchell Parker in the series opener on Friday night. Parker has made a good showing for himself in his initial season with the big club. Parker is 6-6 in 20 starts including seven quality starts. He has an ERA of 4.06 and a WHIP of 1.19 while allowing 98 hits in 106.1 innings of work.
**Key Injuries:** RP Jordan Weems and SP Cade Cavalli are out.
Friday’s Top Plays
**Full-Game Side Bet**
I’m going to go with the Nationals in game one of this series at home vs. the Angels. Both pitchers come into this start after a strong outing, the duo combining to pitch 12 shutout innings in their last start each. Both teams have below-average offenses but the Angels are among the worst in MLB, ranking 26th in runs per game this season. They are even worse offensively on the road, averaging less than four runs per game.
**Full-Game Total Pick**
As noted above, this is an evenly matched game that features two below-average offenses. The Angels have played below the run total in three of Soriano’s last five starts. The Nationals’ starter Parker has allowed a total of two earned runs in his last two starts heading into this matchup. Neither pitcher is susceptible to the long ball, particularly Soriano who has given up just eight home runs this season.
