Last week I made a thread about how Stephen Strasburg was going to dominate the Braves lineup after the Nationals got their asses handed to them by the Mets at home in this very same situation. My prediction was spot on except for the fact the Nationals decided to have the biggest meltdown of any team this season and lose a game in which they were up 9-0. You had a better chance of winning the lotto than losing that game but I guess that's why they play the game. With that being said, if there is any team I know its the Washington Nationals and if there is any pitcher I know it is Gio Gonzalez.
HE IS ANGRY TODAY!
Gio comes in boasting a 12-5 record with two straight loses that came on the road to his hometown Marlins (which he probably pitched his best game this year and lost a pathetic 2-1) and 5 days ago to the NY Mets at home versus RA Dickey in a game he wanted to win that would have put him on top of the charts with the most wins in the MLB thus far. Last time Dickey faced the Nationals he did not blow hitters away as the Nats had 10 hits against him and should have had more than 3 runs. Gio came out flat and got rocked in only 3.1 innings.
You could argue in Gio's last two starts the run support has not been there early in the game, against the Marlins he pitched a gem giving up 2 runs and the Nats couldn't hit to save their lives. Last week Gio put himself in a hole giving up 6 and the team could not comeback after that. Zimmerman and Strasburg have been the beneficiaries of good run support as of late coming off the All-Star break and I think your going to see a change in that.
The Mets have dropped 9 out of their last 10 since the break, the only victory coming from this same exact matchup last week giving Dickey the win and the league lead in wins. They have been involved in 3 extra innings games in the past week alone and their bullpen has to be downright exhausted. Their bullpen isn't good to begin with so imagine once Dickey gets hit which one of their tired arms will they turn to? I know everyone says it every time Dickey starts, "he's going to regress, he's gonna get racked, blah blah". Today is that day!
Zimmerman has been on an unbelievable tear since the break along with Michael Morse and the rest of the crew. This is the third time this season the Nats are gonna have seen the knuckle baller and I fully expect those balls to be hit hard and fly out of the park tonight.
Nationals won yesterday, will win tonight and will complete the sweep tomorrow with Stras on the mound.Take your winnings from today's victory and double down with Strasburg tomorrow.
Nationals (+105) - 5 Units
Nationals TT OVER 3.5 runs - 2 Units
I also like the Mariners tonight as well! GOODLUCK!