Oakland Athletics at Washington Nationals 9/1/22 - MLB Picks & Predictions

In Thursday afternoon MLB action, the Oakland Athletics and the Washington Nationals will wrap up their series from the nation’s capital. The Athletics (49-82) are 12 games below .500 on the road and are sitting in last place in the AL Central Division standings. Last night, 1B Dermis Garcia's solo shot was the only offense for Oakland during a 5-1 road loss. 

Twenty-four year old left-hander Ken Waldichuk will make his first career major league start for the Athletics. In two levels of minor league work this season, Waldichuk posted a 2.84 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.

The Washington Nationals have lost 47 of their 68 home games and own the worst overall record in the majors. On Wednesday, Washington SP Anibal Sanchez (1-5) scattered three hits and one run over seven innings to earn the win. 1B Luke Voit hit a two-run blast for the Nationals, who improved to 44-86 on the year.

Washington manager Dave Martinez has yet to name a starting pitcher for this game. The Nationals currently rank last in the majors with a 5.15 team ERA and have logged just 24 quality starts.