Red Sox vs. Nationals Prediction: Washington Spoils Boston's Wild Card Hopes
By Thomas Snodgrass
The Boston Red Sox will play their final regular season series in a National League ballpark. They’ve played nearly their entire 2021 season with a designated hitter in their lineup, but will have to do without one in the final three games. It may not be the most ideal way for the Red Sox to finish out their season, but it only heightens the matter since they are tied with the Seattle Mariners for the second AL Wild Card spot.
Boston will send lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (11-8, 4.93 ERA) to the mound tonight. Rodriguez has been inconsistent of late, posting an ERA of 4.79 in his last seven starts, but has done better on the road (4.22 ERA) compared to at home (5.95 ERA) in Fenway Park. Rodriguez has made two starts in NL ballparks this season, giving up four runs in just four innings in both games, to the Philadelphia Phillies on May 23rd, and the Atlanta Braves on June 15th (9.00 ERA).
Josh Rogers (2-1, 2.73 ERA) will make the start for the Washington Nationals, and the lefty has pitched well in his five starts. Rogers has allowed just a .135 batting average at Nationals Park.
Here are the odds for the interleague matchup, courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook.
Red Sox vs. Nationals Odds
Moneyline:
Boston: -190
Washington: +175
Run Line:
Boston: -1.5 (-125)
Washington: +1.5 (+105)
Total:
9.5 (Over +100/Under -120)
Red Sox vs. Nationals Prediction
Eduardo Rodriguez has struggled at National League parks. If he has to bat for himself too, that just raises a red flag for the Red Sox.
J.D. Martinez is the primary DH for Boston, so do you bench Hunter Renfroe or Alex Verdugo to get Martinez in the lineup? I could see Verdugo being benched against the lefty Rogers, but Martinez in the outfield is not the best situation.
Nationals sluggers Juan Soto and Josh Bell have both been hitting well recently, and I’ll take Washington to play spoiler to the Red Sox.
Boston doesn’t make the schedule, but they still got to play the schedule. If a season-ending series at a NL ballpark sees the Red Sox out of the playoffs and it causes a kerfuffle with the league over DH rules, then there will probably be a DH in the NL in 2022. We’ll see.
But, I like the Nats as a spoiler at +170 on the moneyline.
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