The names Sonny Gray and Stephen Strasburg are linked to pitching success and All-Star appearances, but both have spent time on the injured list this season and have not been as dominant as in the past.
The Cincinnati Reds on Thursday will look to Gray to improve upon his 1.5 home runs and 4.5 walks allowed per nine innings, both of which are tied for career worsts. And in three road starts, he has a 5.14 ERA with an 0-2 record.
Strasburg has given the Washington Nationals just five starts since the 2020 season began, and has a 5.75 ERA and 1.4 strikeout-to-walk ratio coupled with allowing 1.8 home runs per nine innings.
The Reds bullpen ranks 28th in the MLB in ERA and will face a Nationals lineup the leads the NL in batting average. Cincinnati ranks second in the NL in batting average and home runs per game, and with both pitching staffs in the bottom eight in home runs per game given up, we should see a higher-scoring affair in Washington on Thursday.
The play: Reds-Nationals total, Over 8 runs.
