Thursday night brings the first meeting of the season between the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals. These two NL East foes start a five-game series at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., so we have prepared the best Phillies vs. Nationals betting pick along with the latest odds update on Bookmaker Sportsbook. 

The Phillies won 13 of their 19 encounters with the Nationals in 2021. They are undefeated in eight straight contests against Washington and will search for their eighth consecutive victory at Nationals Park.  

The Phillies have won four series in a row                              

The 32-31 Philadelphia Phillies are coming off a 3-1 home victory over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday afternoon. They erased a one-run deficit thanks to Garrett Stubbs’ three-run homer with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning. 

The Phillies clinched a three-game set at Citizens Bank Park, tallying their 11th victory in the last 13 outings at any location. Philadelphia has scored 80 runs in that span while slashing an excellent .283/.356/.520. On the other side of the ball, the Phillies have amassed a solid 3.46 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and .217 batting average against. 

Zack Wheeler will take the mound Thursday, searching for his third straight win. The 32-year-old right-hander has gone 4-0 with a microscopic 1.42 ERA and 1.08 FIP over his previous five appearances. Wheeler is 5-3 with a 2.84 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 75/15 K/BB ratio in 11 starts (63.1 innings) this season. 

The Nationals’ pitching staff is a disaster                                     

At the time of writing, the 23-41 Washington Nationals were preparing for the closing contest of their three-game home series against the Atlanta Braves. The Nats hopped to avoid a sweep after surrendering a whopping 19 runs over the previous two games. 

Washington has registered a horrible 6.35 ERA over its previous 13 games. The Nats have won five games in that span thanks to their offense, slashing a decent .266/.325/.425 with 18 home runs and 17 doubles across 459 at-bats. 

Patrick Corbin will get the ball Thursday, searching for his third win in a row. Over his previous two starts, the 32-year-old left-hander has allowed seven earned runs on 16 hits and two walks across 12 innings of work. Corbin is 3-8 with an awful 6.65 ERA and 1.73 WHIP in 13 starts (66.1 frames) this season. 

Trends:

Philadelphia: 

  • 11-2 in the last 13 games overall  
  • 7-0 in the last seven road games against Washington 
  • 5-1 in Zack Wheeler’s last six starts     

Washington:

  • 2-6 in the last eight games overall  
  • 4-11 in the last 15 games against Philadelphia  
  • 3-10 in Patrick Corbin’s 13 starts in 2022 

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Washington Nationals Pick 

The Phillies must be fired up following Garrett Stubbs’ walk-off homer against the Marlins. They’ve been more dangerous when hitting the lefties so far this season (116 OPS+), so I’m expecting the Phillies to continue with their strong performance when they meet Patrick Corbin. 

Last year, Corbin yielded 15 earned runs in four starts and 24 innings of work against Philadelphia. He’s surrendered a whopping 27 earned runs over his previous six starts (33.2 innings) in 2022. If Zack Wheeler continues to pitch well, the Phillies will come out on top. 

Pick: Take Philadelphia Phillies                             

The Total:

The Nationals’ bullpen holds a disastrous 5.30 ERA, 6.16 FIP, and 2.39 HR/9 in June. On the other side, the Phillies’ bullpen has accounted for a 4.46 ERA, 3.85 FIP, and 0.99 HR/9 over the last couple of weeks. 

The total has gone over in eight straight meetings between the Phillies and Nationals. Seven of those eight contests have produced 12 or more runs in total. The Nationals have allowed seven or more runs in six of their previous eight outings in 2022. 

Pick: Go over