Yankees vs Nationals Odds, Lines, and Spread – July 23

• Thursday marks the opening night of the MLB season, with the reigning champion Nationals hosting the AL-favorite Yankees
• Gerrit Cole, the Yankees’ prized offseason acquisition, makes his first start for New York
• See the odds, spread and a pick for tonight’s game within the story below

At approximately 7:08 p.m. on Thursday night, Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer will throw the first pitch of the MLB season. It might be late July, and it might be a severely shortened season, but baseball is finally back.

Opposite Scherzer, the New York Yankees will send their prized free agency find, Gerrit Cole, to the mound. Cole’s presence has helped the Yankees emerge as moneyline favorites on the current Nationals vs Yankees odds.

New York Yankees vs Washington Nationals Odds

Odds taken July 23

Here’s how both teams look entering the 2020 season, with big names moving on and off their rosters.

Yankees/Nationals Roster Movement

King Cole on the Mound

Gerrit Cole, the American League ERA and strikeout king in 2019, might look at bit different in a Yankees uniform. But the Nationals have seen him twice in very recent memory.

Cole started twice for the Houston Astros in the 2019 World Series, which Washington won in a thrilling seven-game series. Cole went 1-1 in those outings with a 3.86 ERA, allowing 11 hits and striking out 15 in 14 innings.

That’s respectable, but Cole’s standards are actually much higher. In his final seven regular season starts of 2019, Cole amassed a 5-0 record and 1.66 ERA, with an eye-popping 88 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings.

Reminder: Over his final 17 regular season starts of 2019, Gerrit Cole went 14-0 with a 1.63 ERA. pic.twitter.com/RVKU63787D

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) July 17, 2020

Simply put, he has electric stuff. And although Scherzer (three-time Cy Young winner, three-time National League strikeout king) is a formidable foe, Cole has the edge in that matchup.

Matchup Lacks Recent History

Zooming out to focus on the Yankees/Nationals at a team level, this is not a matchup we’ve seen much in recent years. They have only played four times in the past four seasons, splitting those games 2-2.

Their last game, in June 2018, featured two sluggers in the heart of the Nationals’ lineup (Rendon, Bryce Harper) who’ve since moved on to other teams.

Bryce Harper takes former teammate Max Scherzer YAAAAARD pic.twitter.com/xVQLKz7tl0

— Fuzzy (@fuzzyfromyt) July 18, 2020

So how much should past results factor into a bettor’s decision here? Not much, if at all. It’s a brand new season and 2018 is a distant memory.

Healthy Bombers?

The biggest storyline in this matchup — and one of the biggest storylines of this season — is the health status of the Yankees’ star-studded lineup. Some notable players who would’ve been absent in the early stages of a full season are now back to health and ready to rock.

That group includes Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks. Stanton will likely be used as a designated hitter early in the season, as he’s recovering from a calf injury, but that shouldn’t impact his offensive production.

Baseball, Corner Pocket …
(113 MPH via @Giancarlo818) pic.twitter.com/Go7kFC6j80

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 15, 2020

One question mark is Silver Slugger winner DJ LeMahieu, who has had some at-bats in exhibition games but isn’t a lock to play Thursday after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the month.

Aaron Boone said he’s “still working through” whether DJ LeMahieu will play in the season opener.

— JackCurryYES (@JackCurryYES) July 22, 2020

The home/road factor feels muted in a fan-less environment (and we’ll probably be saying that a lot this summer), so don’t let that sway you. The Yankees have the slightly stronger ace on the mound, plus a deeper lineup of hitters.

Pick: New York Yankees, -137