Washington Nationals at Philadelphia Phillies 7/29/21 - MLB Picks & Predictions

In the first game of a Thursday MLB doubleheader, the Washington Nationals will battle the Philadelphia Phillies from Citizens Bank Park. The Nationals (46-54) are ten games below .500 on the road and have fallen 7.5 games off the place in the NL East Division race. On Tuesday, Washington snapped a five-game losing streak with a 6-4 road victory against Philadelphia.

Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (7-4 2.83 ERA) could be moved by the Nationals at the trade deadline. Last time out, Scherzer allowed four runs in seven innings during an 8-7 home victory versus San Diego.

The Philadelphia Phillies have won 30 of their first 50 home games and are 3.5 games behind first place New York. During Tuesday’s two-run loss versus Washington, Philadelphia went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base. Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper each went deep in a losing effort for the Phillies (50-50).

Philadelphia manager Joe Girardi will turn to hard-throwing righty Vince Velasquez (3-5 5.54 ERA) on Thursday. In his last start, Velasquez was tagged for six runs and recorded just seven outs during a 15-3 home loss versus Atlanta.