Washington Nationals vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction & Picks - MLB

Prediction published on 8/29/25, 3:28 PM  by Travis Pulver | Modified on 1/13/26 at 9:17 AM in MLB Picks

The Tampa Bay Rays will be in the nation’s capital this weekend for a three-game series with the Washington Nationals.  Game One of the series is today at 6:45 p.m. EST at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. Both teams come into the series off losses; the Rays lost their last two vs. the Guardians in Cleveland, while the Nationals are fresh off getting swept by the Yankees in the Bronx.

Tampa Bay will go with Adrian Houser on the mound to start the day. Houser is 7-4 in 15 starts with a 2.88 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and .263 OBA. He’s gone 1-4 in nine road starts with a 3.48 ERA and .291 OBA. He looked good in his last road start (vs. San Francisco, Aug. 16), pitching five shutout innings, giving up four hits and striking out six. But in his previous two, he gave up four and five runs (he took the loss in both). As for the home team Nationals, they’ll give the ball to Mitchell Parker to start. The young righty is 7-14 in 26 starts with a 6.01 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, and .276 OBA. But most of his wins have come at home, where he is 5-7 with a 5.45 ERA and .292 OBA.