Nationals vs Orioles Picks and Odds – Aug 16

• Orioles All-Star John Means returns to the rotation after a 12-day absence to start opposite Nationals’ Max Scherzer on Sunday (Aug. 16th, 1:05 pm EST)
• Baltimore had a six-game win streak snapped by a 15-3 loss against Washington on Friday
• Check out the odds, analysis, and a pick for the game in the article below

The Beltway Series forges ahead on Sunday for its final segment, as perennial All-Star Max Scherzer matches up with one-time All-Star John Means in the Nationals vs. Orioles game on Sunday, August 16th at 1:05 pm EST.

Orioles vs Nationals Odds

Odds taken Aug. 15th.

About Last Night

The Orioles scored four runs in the first two innings and didn’t look back on Saturday, emerging with a 7-3 win. Now Baltimore and Washington are gunning for a series win on Sunday.

See a home run, send a home run. pic.twitter.com/F1KOmQk7NO

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 16, 2020

Jose Igelsias stayed hot for the Orioles with his sixth multi-hit game of the year, bumping his batting average up to the coveted .400 mark.

The Orioles have now won seven of eight games overall and four of five against the Nationals.

Means Makes His Return

John Means will toe the rubber for the first time since August 4th, having taken some time away to mourn the death of his father. While that’s a tragic and upsetting thing, the silver lining for bettors is that Means’ absence was not injury related.

With that said, Means (0-1, 7.71 ERA) hasn’t been entirely sharp so far this season. The underlying stats suggest that could change, though, as Means has allowed six runs in two short starts — despite only yielding four hits and a walk.

John Means business year round.

We're proud of our 2019 Rookie of the Year runner-up 👏 pic.twitter.com/WQzj11DclB

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) November 13, 2019

Means has never faced the Nationals. But even with his poor results in the early stages of this season, he is the Orioles’ best option on the mound.

Orioles Career Stats vs Scherzer

Mad Max Feasts On The O’s

Max Scherzer is one of the game’s elite pitchers, so his numbers are good against most teams. And that certainly applies to the Orioles, who have struggled to muster much offense of late against Mad Max.

In his past five starts against Baltimore, Scherzer is 2-0 with a 1.53 ERA — with 50 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings. It’s tough to beat a guy pitching like that.

Max Scherzer has made 162 regular season starts for the #Nats.

He's pitched at least 6 innings and struck out at least 7 in 118 of them.

(That's 73%.)#Scherzday // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/xdCxnpEcyX

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 12, 2020

So far this season, Scherzer (1-1, 2.75 ERA) has retained steady, ace-like stuff through

Nationals Career Stats vs Means

The Juan Soto Factor

Juan Soto had a slow start to the season after receiving a positive COVID-19 test. But since his return, he has been absolutely mashing for the Nationals.

Soto homered again on Saturday, his sixth in 10 games this year. He is also batting .405, with more multi-hit games (five) than hitless games (two).

https://twitter.com/OnePursuitTakes/status/1294795434171543554?s=20

Despite Washington’s lapses as a team on Saturday, they’re in good shape on Sunday with Scherzer on the mound as evident in the MLB odds. Add in the young phenom Soto, who’s as hot as anyone in baseball right now, and this is their game to win.

Pick: Washington Nationals, -168