Game one between the Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees was a bit of a shocker, as the Nats pulled off the upset in the opener of their weekend series in the Bronx, but game two has the makings of a tight affair.
Max Scherzer will toe the rubber for the Nationals while the Yankees counter with a renewed Corey Kluber. The Yanks will be slight home favorites but is the MLB betting value with Mad Max and the underdog Nats?
Find out in our MLB free picks and predictions for Nationals vs. Yankees on Saturday, May 8, with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET.
Nationals vs Yankees odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
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MLB Sharp Money and Line Movement Report
By Patrick EversonThe Yankees opened as -124 favorites Friday night at FanDuel, dipped to -118, rose a couple of times to -138 and are -130 at 12:15 p.m. ET today. Moneyline ticket count is dead even, and the Nationals are taking 59 percent of moneyline dollars. The total opened at 8 (Under -114), made a couple of trips to 8.5 and is now back to the opener, with 68 percent of tickets/74 percent of money on the Under.
Check out the full line movement for this gameNationals vs Yankees betting preview
Starting pitchers
Max Scherzer (2-2, 2.54 ERA): Scherzer has mostly been his vintage, dominant self this season and is coming off a complete game against the Miami Marlins in which he allowed just one run on five hits while striking out nine. He has now allowed one earned run or fewer in four of his last five starts.
Corey Kluber (2-2, 3.03 ERA): Kluber is everything the Yankees hoped for when they signed the former Cy Young Award winner this offseason, as he has become their most reliable starter behind Gerrit Cole. Kluber is coming off his best start in pinstripes, shutting out the Detroit Tigers over eight innings on just two hits while striking out 10.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Nationals: Wander Suero RP (Out).
Yankees: Gio Urshela 3B (Questionable), Darren O'Day RP (Out), Zack Britton RP (Out), Rougned Odor 2B (Out), Luke Voit 1B (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Under is 6-1-2 in the Nationals' last eight games as an underdog and is 4-0 in Corey Kluber's last four starts. Find more MLB betting trends for Nationals vs. Yankees.
Moneyline pick
A six-run outburst from the Nationals' bats in the eighth inning led to the victory in game one, cashing as +160 underdogs. They’ll be underdogs this time around as well but much shorter, with Scherzer on the bump.
The right-hander, as noted, has made 2020 look more like the aberration it clearly was and is back to his old self. Scherzer has located his fastball well, creating a lot of soft contact, and is getting a lot of swings and misses with his slider.
We have talked recently about the resurgence of the Yankees bats, but they have relied too heavily on mainly the success of Giancarlo Stanton and D.J. LaMahieu as the rest of the team still searches for more consistent results.
Opposing Scherzer is Kluber, and while Kluber is pitching better than he has in years, he is still dealing with a few issues. He is walking too many batters, surrendering 4.2 base on balls per nine innings. Plus, the majority of his success has come against the Tigers and Orioles — not exactly a murderer’s row of hitters.
We’re taking the underdog value with the better pitcher in Scherzer.
PREDICTION: Nationals (+100)
Over/Under pick
We are getting a decently high total for a matchup that has all the makings of a pitcher’s duel.
We can talk at length about Scherzer’s dominance, and maybe the most impressive part is that he is allowing opponents to hit just .193 for the season. Despite the Yanks' recent surge in scoring, they have scored four runs or fewer in three of their last five and still rank 26th in batting average against right-handers at just .210.
Even with the Nats’ 11-run eruption last night, they still rank second to last in scoring at 3.59 runs per game. Kluber is pitching better and then he hands the ball to arguably the best bullpen in the majors. Bet this one to be a pitcher’s duel and take the Under.
PREDICTION: Under 8 (-110)
Nationals vs Yankees betting card
- Nationals (+100)
- Under 8 (-110)
Picks made on 5/7/2021 at 11:35 p.m. ET
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