The Washington Nationals and the Cleveland Guardians meet Saturday in MLB action from Progressive Field. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Cleveland Guardians vs Washington Nationals Prediction.

Starting Pitching Matchup

The Washington Nationals will send out Mitchell Parker here and Parker is 4-2 with a 3.45 ERA and 38 strikeouts this season. This will be Parker’s first career start against the Guardians. Ben Lively will get the start for the Guardians here and is 4-2 with a 2.80 ERA and 43 strikeouts this season. This will be Lively’s second career start against Washington.

Washington Nationals Recap

The Washington Nationals come into this one looking to bounce back after a 7-1 series-opening loss at the hands of the Guardians in Friday’s series opener. The loss was not the start to the series that the Nationals were looking for after back-to-back series wins over the Braves and Mariners over the last week.

Nationals Heating Up Despite Defeat

CJ Abrams leads the Nationals with 54 hits along with 9 home runs and 26 RBIs to go along with 10 doubles, 4 triples and 8 stolen bases. Luis Garcia Jr. has a team-high 10 doubles with 26 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Jacob Young has a team-high 17 stolen bases while Trey Lipscomb and Jesse Winker each have 10 stolen bases of their own this season.

Why the Washington Nationals will win

• The Guardians have lost eight of their last 10 games as favorites against National League opponents following a win.
• The Nationals have won four of their last five games as underdogs following a loss.
• The Nationals have covered the run line in 12 of their last 13 games against American League opponents following a loss.
• The Guardians have failed to cover the run line in 12 of their last 13 games as home favorites against National League opponents following a win.
• The Nationals have led after 3 innings in each of their last six Saturday games against American League opponents that held a winning record.

Cleveland Guardians Recap

The Cleveland Guardians will look to build on their series opening win over the Nationals on Friday. The win was just what the doctor ordered for Cleveland after a series loss to the Colorado Rockies earlier this week.

Guardians Still Rolling At The Dish In Their Own Right

Jose Ramirez leads the Guardians with 61 hits as well as 16 home runs and 57 RBIs while Josh Naylor also has 15 home runs of his own. Ramirez has a team-high 13 doubles while Tyler Freeman has 11 doubles and Andres Gimenez has 33 RBIs with a team-high 9 stolen bases as well this season.

Why the Cleveland Guardians will win

• The Guardians have won each of their last eight games at Progressive Field.
• The Nationals have lost five of their last six road games against American League opponents.
• The Guardians have covered the run line in each of their last six day games following a home win.
• The Nationals have failed to cover the run line in four of their last five road games against American League opponents after playing the previous day.
• The Nationals have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last five road games against American League opponents.

Cleveland Guardians vs Washington Nationals Prediction

I’m on the Nationals here. I think there’s a lot to like about Mitchell Parker despite being in tough against a really solid Guardians lineup in this game considering the Guardians have been crushing lefties for the better part of the last month. Parker’s held his own against tough lineups all year long and has been able to provide some strong and solid innings for Washington so far this year and I think he delivers another solid outing at a nice underdog price here. Give me the Nationals in this one.