Phillies vs Nationals prediction and odds for Sunday, Aug. 20 (The Trea turnaround)

It appears that the Philly fans have turned Trea Turner’s season around. Last night, the Philadelphia Phillies won 12-3 over the Washington Nationals behind a two-homer game from Turner. Now, the Phillies will try to take the rubber match in DC behind Zack Wheeler. 

Wheeler will take the mound for the 67-56 Phillies for the 25th time this season and will be opposed by Trevor Williams. Wheeler is 9-5 with a 3.63 ERA and Williams is 5-7 with a 5.20 ERA for the 56-68 Nats. 

With their ace, Wheeler, on the mound, the Phillies are big road favorites in the series finale. 

Phillies vs. Nationals odds, run line and total

Phillies vs. Nationals prediction and pick

The Nationals may have taken an 8-7 win in the first game of this series, but Michael Lorenzen was due for a bad start after his no-hitter and early success in Philly. Zack Wheeler on the other hand has been great and still has some positive regression coming his way.

Wheeler has a 3.08 FIP and a 3.30 xERA, both of which are lower than his ERA. That points to positive regression and I expect his ERA to continue to shrink. 

The Nationals offense is strongest against lefties, but against a righty like Wheeler, they won’t have much of a chance. Their best hitter, Lane Thomas has just a .732 OPS against righties. The Phillies best hitters will do some damage against Trevor Williams though. 

Williams has a 5.93 FIP and has allowed 11 runs over his nine innings of work in August. Over his last six starts he’s allowed 11 home runs and the Phillies have hit the ninth most in baseball since the All-Star break. 

Trea Turner’s awful season was turned around by some supportive cheers from fans in Philadelphia and now in August he’s come alive with a .928 OPS and four home runs. 

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change