MLB Picks 8/26 – New York Yankees @ Washington Nationals

MLB Picks 8/26 – New York Yankees @ Washington Nationals

by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com

The AL-leading New York Yankees (77-54) open a three-game series on the road against the Washington Nationals (59-72) tonight at Nationals Park. The matchup is the first and only series meeting between the teams this season. The Yankees are playing in Washington for the first time since July 2020. New York took two of three in that series four years ago. 

New York is coming off a 10-3 rout of the visiting Colorado Rockies yesterday. Superstar Aaron Judge homered twice for his MLB-leading 50th and 51st homers of the season. Fellow sluggers Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton also homered for the Yankees in the win. Judge’s second homer occurred in between solo shots from Soto and Stanton in the bottom of the seventh inning. New York took two of three from Colorado in the series and have won four of their last five games. 

Washington is coming off a 5-1 win at Atlanta yesterday behind the strong efforts of rookie starting pitcher DJ Herz and All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams. The 23-year-old Herz struck out eight over five scoreless innings to pick up his second win of the season. Abrams went 2-for-5 with two RBI in the win. Washington avoided a three-game sweep with the victory. 

Tonight’s starting pitchers are Nester Cortes (7-10, 4.00 ERA, 137 K’s in 26 starts) for New York and rookie Mitchell Parker (7-7, 4.26 ERA, 104 K’s in 23 starts) for Washington.  

MLB Picks 8/26 – New York Yankees @ Washington Nationals

GAME ODDS

Moneyline: New York -184,    Washington +154

Run Line: New York -1.5 (-115),   Washington +1.5 (-104)

Run Total: over 9 (-118)   under 9 (-104)

GAME STORYLINES: NEW YORK

The 2023 season was a disaster for the mighty New York Yankees as injuries to key players reduced them to an 82-80 record and a fourth place finish in the tough AL East, It was their worst mark since a 76-86 finish in 1992. The Yankees also missed the postseason for the first time since 2016. Anyone familiar with the impatient nature of Yankees ownership knew big changes would be made after the disappointing 2023 season.

The biggest change New York made in the offseason was acquiring 25-year-old superstar Juan Soto in a blockbuster trade from San Diego last December. Soto has been magnificent in his first year wearing the pinstripes. He’s hitting .299 with 37 homers, 95 RBI, 108 runs scored and an MLB-leading 108 walks through 127 games. His 37 homers are a career-high. Soto was selected as a starter in this year’s All-Star game, it was his fourth straight All-Star nod.  

The incomprable Aaron Judge is having the best season of his illustrious 8-year career – all with the Yankees. The 32-year-old superstar slugger is hitting .333 with 51 homers, 122 RBI, 30 doubles and 106 walks through 129 games. Judge leads MLB in homers and RBI, and his .333 batting average is second to Kansas City All-Star Bobby Witt Jr.’s .347 average. If Judge can surpass Witt, he’d be the 13th player in MLB history to achieve a triple crown, and the first to do it since Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera in 2012.

Aaron Judge became the fifth player in MLB history with three 50-homer seasons after going deep twice against Colorado yesterday. He joins a list that includes Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Alex Rodriguez. Judge has homered seven times in his last six games. He’s on pace to hit 60+ homers in a season for the second time in his career. Judge will likely win his second AL MVP award this season, it will be his second in three years. Judge made his sixth All-Star appearance this year after being voted in as a starter.

MLB Picks 8/26 – New York Yankees @ Washington Nationals

The Yankees hit a bit of a rough patch in mid-June – they lost 15 of 20 games – due to inconsistent starting pitching and a hamstring injury for Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton’s loss and the struggles of everyone in the lineup outside of Judge and Soto somewhat exposed the Yankees for their lack of depth. New York traded for talented Miami Marlins speedster Jazz Chisolm Jr. on July 26 to address their depth issue. Chisolm is hitting .294 with 7 homers, 12 RBI and 5 stolen bases in 17 games with the Yankees. 

The return of Giancarlo Stanton (.245, 23 HR, 57 RBI in 88 games) from the injured list on July 29, the acquisition of Jazz Chisolm Jr., along with the outstanding pitching of starters Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil of late has propelled the Yankees back atop the overall MLB standings. Their 77-54 record is the second-best mark in MLB behind the 78-53 Los Angeles Dodgers. Stanton has homered in three straight games.

GAME STORYLINES: WASHINGTON

The Washington Nationals established themselves as a championship contender for much of the 2010’s and their efforts paid off as they won the World Series in 2019. Unfortunately, Nationals management made the controversial decision to slash their enormous payroll during the 2020 season and rebuild from scratch. Washington eventually jettisoned stars Trea Turner, Anthony Rendon, Max Scherzer, and Juan Soto, who all starred on the 2019 World Series championship team. 

The unloading of Turner, Rendon, Scherzer and Soto, along with the retirement of franchise stalwart Ryan Zimmeran and chronic injuries to superstar pitcher Stephen Strasburg – who has also retired – left the Washington Nationals in shambles. Washington has now posted four consecutive last place finishes in the National League East since winning the World Series in 2019. 

At 59-72, Washington is on track to have their most wins after a full season since 2019 – when they went 93-69 and won the World Series. The Nationals have been able to rebuild with young and talented players they recieved in trades for the jettisoned stars from the 2019 team. Some of the young talent Washington acquired in those trades include starting pitchers Josiah Gray and  MacKenzie Gore, along with shortstop CJ Abrams and outfielder James Wood. Gray was Washington’s lone All-Star last year but only made two starts this year due to a torn UCL in his right elbow. He underwent season-ending surgery in July.

MLB Picks 8/26 – New York Yankees @ Washington Nationals

Shortstop CJ Abrams (.249, 18 HR, 62 RBI, 27 steals, 26 doubles in 121 games) and 21-year-old rookie left fielder James Wood (.284, 5 HR, 30 RBI, 7 doubles, 7 steals in 49 games) are emerging as the centerpieces among all the players Washington recieved through trades in recent years. Both players were part of the trade package from San Diego for Juan Soto in August 2022. The 23-year-old Abrams is having a breakout season in year three and was named an All-Star for the first time in his career. 

The highly-touted, 6-foot-7 James Wood made his MLB debut on July 1 at home against the New York Mets. He became the Nationals No. 1 rated minor league prospect and the third overall MLB prospect after a dominant run through Triple-A Rochester. Wood has been fantastic with the Nationals so far and has the potential to be Washington’s next franchise player when you look at his power and speed. 

The trio of second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. (.293, 15 HR, 63 RBI, 20 steals, 22 doubles in 114 games), starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore (6-7, 4.51 ERA, team-leading 140 K’s in 26 starts) and catcher Keibert Ruiz (.228, 12 HR, 46 RBI in 101 games) are young players who have been key contributors for Washington this season. The 24-year-old Garcia is having a breakout season and leads Washington in batting average and RBI. The 25-year-old Gore and the 26-year-old Ruiz were part of trade packages from San Diego and the Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively. 

THE PICK: YANKEES (Run Line)

New York’s Big Three of Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton have been red hot of late, I don’t see why anything changes tonight in Washington as a large number of Yankee fans will be at Nationals Park to cheer on the Bronx Bombers. I expect all three of them will feast on Washington’s pitchers here. Take the Yankees on the run line!