The hype and hoopla of the MLB odds All Star extravaganza might be over but so far the insanity that has followed rookie pitching sensation Stephen Strasburg through his first 7 MLB betting starts has failed to slow down in the slightest.
He’s one of the brightest young prospects the baseball odds fans have seen in years and he’s in the midst of one of the most impressive MLB betting debut seasons since the great Fernando Valenzuela in the early 1980s. Strasburg’s next start (fondly known as ‘Strasmas’ among the Nats online betting faithful) will be this Friday in humid South Florida when this Washington Nationals (39-50) head to the tropic to take on the Florida Marlins (42-46) in both teams’ first MLB odds matchup since the All Star break.
Strasburg enters the game with some impressive rookie stats and will be the best pitcher in this MLB odds competition. With a record of 3-2 through 7 starts he’s compiled an ERA of just 2.32 and has an eye-popping 71 Ks in just 42.4 inning of baseball betting work.
The Fish will send the perennially underachieving Ricky Nolasco to the mound. Nolasco has had a decent season so far in the MLB betting action but don’t let the 9-6 record fool you, he’s got a bloated ERA of 4.55 and for whatever reason gets the best run support of any Marlins pitcher. But it appears he’s shaken off the early rust of the baseball betting season and settled in and won four straight games, allowing just 11 runs in 28 innings over that stretch.
Neither of these teams is all that good and neither will be playing in the MLB odds playoff action. In fact, we could see radically different lineups for both teams, especially the Marlins as the penny pinching owner, Jeffery Loria, looks to dump salary in the second half of the MLB betting season by trading away high priced players and getting cheap and talented prospects in return.
Players most likely not to be in the lineup on Friday are OF Cody Ross, 3B Jorge Cantu and 2B Dan Uggla.
Nonetheless the Marlins will win this game for two simple reasons: Nolasco is pitching well and getting run support and the Nats are awful on the road with a pitiful record of 14-29 outside our nation’s capital.