New York Yankees vs. Washington Nationals Prediction: Can Luis Severino, MacKenzie Gore Take Control?
The New York Yankees host the Washington Nationals again tonight: Can Luis Severino and MacKenzie Gore take control on the mound? Ben Rajavuori provides his Yankees vs. Nationals prediction and pick.
Ben Rajavuori - August 23, 2023, 4:30 PM EDT
5 minNew York Yankees vs. Washington Nationals Prediction: Can Luis Severino, MacKenzie Gore Take Control?
The New York Yankees have now lost nine games in a row and are on the verge of losing ten in a row if they lose tonight. The Yankees have not lost ten games in a row in 100 years, the longest stint in baseball. That encapsulates the Yankees season so far, and things do not look good with Luis Severino on the mound tonight. Can the Yankees keep the losing streak from hitting 10?
Yankees vs. Nationals Date, Time, and Where to Watch
- Date: August 23, 2023
- Time: 7:05 pm ET
- Where to Watch: MLB.TV, SNY
New York Yankees vs. Washington Nationals Prediction
I'm going to keep this one short and sweet. No super long explanation is needed for tonight's two-unit pick. The big play for me tonight is the over in this game. While an initial glance at the total being 8.5 might be worrisome, I'm not too worried about a "trap" line here. The Yankees offense has been absolutely abysmal. Yesterday, the game ended just 1-2, flying under the total.
They have struggled to score and called up two players from AAA yesterday to try and spark something in this offense. Additionally, I think the books expect a certain level of bounceback from Luis Severino, who has not been good all season. He is coming off an outing where he went four innings with three earned runs against the Atlanta Braves, but even that game only ended 0-5, going under the total. However, tonight seems like a perfect storm for runs.
The exact type of batter that Luis Severino struggles with is the thing the Nationals have a lot of, and that is lefty bats. Six of the nine hitters in the Washington Nationals' lineup are either a pure lefty or a switch-hitter who hits lefty against righty pitchers. Only three hitters in the lineup are straight righties, and they are three of the best hitters on the team as well, too, not easy outs. Luis Severino has a 7.98 ERA and has struggled all season, but he has REALLY struggled against lefties. Righty hitters are hitting .299 off Severino with a .912 OPS, but lefty hitters are hitting an insane .362 off Severino with a 1.104 OPS. He has given up 24 extra-base hits to lefties in only 141 at-bats.
While Severino should struggle against the Southpaws tonight, lefty MacKenzie Gore should struggle against the Yankees tonight. The Yankees have been facing a lot of righty pitchers the last month, and this is where their struggles have come. The Yankees are dead last with a .194 average off righty pitchers the last 30 days, below even the worst lineups in the league. However, they have crushed lefties.
While they are dead last against righties, the Yankees are FIRST with a .348 average off lefties the last month. That is an insane split, but it makes sense, as most of the Yankees' hitters have hit better-off lefties in their careers. They have also had one of the lowest strikeout rates against lefties the last month, extending at-bats and getting on base more. The Yankees haven't faced a ton of lefties lately, but the ones they have seen they have been crushing.
Yankee Stadium is a great park for lefties with the short porch, and the Nationals are loaded with them. Severino is set to struggle against such a lefty-dominant lineup, but the Yankees should strike back against lefty MacKenzie Gore, as they have led the league in batting average against lefties since mid-July. The total looks suspiciously low, but we only need a 4-4 tie game to take us home here. They should get it done.
New York Yankees vs. Washington Nationals Pick
2 Unit Pick: Yankees/Nationals Over 8.5 -110 is currently the best odds. Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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