Houston Astros vs Washington Nationals Prediction, 5/13/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Astros vs Washington Nationals

Date: Friday, May 13, 2022

Location: Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

TV: MASN

Nationals Park is the location where the Washington Nationals (11-21) will play the Houston Astros (19-11) on Friday. The expected starting pitchers will be Framber Valdez and Jon Gray.

Houston has a slugging percentage of .378 and have struck out 244 times, while drawing a walk on 114 occasions. They have accounted for 113 runs batted in as well as 212 hits so far this year, and their average at the plate is at .217. The Astros have accounted for 44 two-baggers as a team and have hit 36 baseballs out of the stadium. They have racked up 115 runs scored and have an on-base percentage of .300. As a squad, the Houston Astros are putting up 3.8 runs per outing, which is 22nd in baseball.

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The Astros have a team ERA of 2.85 for the year (3rd in the league), and their staff has rung up 236 hitters. They have walked 82 opposing batters and their FIP comes in at 3.59 as a unit on the year. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.88 and their pitching staff has recorded a WHIP of 1.08. Astros pitchers have allowed 23 long balls in addition to 94 runs in total (3rd in the league).

Astros pitchers have entered the contest with runners on 21 times in addition to having 33 appearances in high leverage situations. The bullpen have 19 holds this season (11th in baseball). The Astros relief pitchers have earned a save rate of 72.7% and has come into the game in 30 save situations. They have tallied 8 saves for the season and have not converted 3 of their 11 chances to get a save. The relief pitchers have inherited 31 base runners so far this year and 32.3% of those players ended up scoring. The Astros have sent 97 relievers to the hill so far this season.

The Astros have converted 73.5% of balls in play into outs out of their 2,388 innings, ranking them 3rd in MLB. The Houston Astros have earned 796 putouts on the campaign, in addition to 250 assists and 11 errors. Their fielding rate sits at .990 which has them ranked 4th in professional baseball, and have accumulated 28 double plays.

Valdez (25-19 career mark) holds a FIP of 4.00 while facing 1,481 opposing batters in the major leagues. He has surrendered 296 base hits (7.7 hits per 9 innings) and has 157 walks. His ERA is 3.70 (142 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.312. Valdez has taken the ball for 345 frames and has accumulated 329 punch outs so far in his pro baseball career.

The Washington Nationals have an on-base percentage of .320 and a batting average of .256 on the year. They have struck out on 239 instances (24th in MLB) and have earned a total of 274 base hits. Washington has recorded 23 home runs so far this season to go along with 129 runs batted in. The Nationals hold a team slugging % of .371 and they have an average of 4.22 runs per contest (13th in MLB). They have notched 53 two-baggers, while taking a walk 95 times as well as putting up 135 runs.

The Nationals are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.458 with a FIP of 4.15 as a staff for the season. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 2.06 (262 strikeouts vs 127 walks). They are currently ranked 28th in the league as a staff in total hits relinquished with 280. They have yielded 29 long balls and they relinquish 5.22 runs per 9 innings (27th in baseball). The Washington pitching staff have allowed 162 runs this season while having a team ERA of 4.80 (149 earned runs surrendered).

Washington has called on relievers to take the mound in 6 save opportunities and they have walked away with 3 saves. They rank 29th in MLB holding a save rate of 50.0%, and they have dispatched 126 relievers to the mound this season. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the mound 21 times in high leverage situations and on 39 occasions with runners on. Washington relief pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 37.3% of 75 inherited runners. With 19 save situations, the Nationals have 13 holds in addition to 3 blown saves.

The Washington Nationals have gotten 19 double plays and own a fielding percentage of .977 (28th in MLB). The Nationals have accrued 285 assists, 26 errors and have a tally of 839 putouts so far this year. In their 2,517 innings played, the Nationals are sitting with a defensive efficiency of 66.9% (27th in MLB).

So far in his career, Gray has allowed 843 base knocks and he has 864 punch outs in 845 innings. Gray (53-50 career record) has a 4.61 ERA and has conceded 9.0 hits per nine innings. He has allowed 433 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.336 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.9. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.01 and he has gone up against 3,624 opposing hitters during his MLB career.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Houston

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