Yankees vs. Nationals Prediction, Odds and Probable Pitchers for Monday, Aug. 26 (Yanks Elite on Road)

Can the New York Yankees improve on their dominant road record on Monday?

New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge (99) celebrates with right fielder Juan Soto. / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees have opened up a 1.5-game lead in the AL East division, winning six of their last 10 games heading into Monday’s series opener with the Washington Nationals.

The fourth-place Nationals are hoping to build on a respectable 30-33 record at Nationals Park, but they’ll be facing one of the best road teams in MLB. The Yankees come into this game 16 games over .500 on the road (41-25) and they have easily the best run differential in the American League. 

A pair of lefties will take the mound in this one with veteran Nestor Cortes starting for New York against Washington youngster Mitchell Parker. Who has the edge in the betting market?

Let’s dive into the odds, key players to watch and my prediction for Monday’s series opener. 

Yankees vs. Nationals Odds, Run Line and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Run Line

• New York -1.5 (-112)
• Washington +1.5 (-108)

Moneyline

• New York: -185
• Washington: +154

Total

• 9 (Over -118/Under -102)

Yankees vs. Nationals Probable Pitchers

• New York: Nestor Cortes (7-10, 4.00 ERA)
• Washington: Mitchell Parker (7-7, 4.26 ERA)

Yankees vs. Nationals How to Watch

• Date: Monday, Aug. 26
• Time: 6:45 p.m. EST
• Venue: Nationals Park
• How to Watch (TV): YES Network, MASN
• Yankees record: 77-54
• Nationals record: 59-72

Yankees vs. Nationals Key Players to Watch

New York Yankees

Aaron Judge: The AL MVP favorite, Judge is now up to 51 homers on the season while posting a ridiculous slash line of .333/.465/.736. Since May 1, Judge is hitting .376 with 45 home runs and 104 runs batted in (98 games). Those would be amazing numbers for a full season, and yet he’s done it in less than 100 games. 

Washington Nationals

Mitchell Parker: The young Nationals lefty has been up and down this month, allowing nine runs across three innings in a start against the Philadelphia Phillies before tossing seven innings of one-run ball his last time out against the Colorado Rockies. The Yankees are just 15th in the league in OPS against lefties, so this should be a more favorable matchup for Parker. 

Yankees vs. Nationals Prediction and Pick

New York has been elite on the road this season, and it’s starting to roll on offense with Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo all flexing their power over the weekend against the Colorado Rockies. 

Parker has been up and down this month, posting three outings with one or fewer earned runs allowed, but he also had a blowup showing against the Phillies. Washington has gone 12-11 in his starts, but I’m worried about the Nats getting the necessary run support against a high-powered New York offense.

The Nationals rank just 26th in MLB in OPS against left-handed pitching, and Cortes appears to have found something after an awful month of July. 

The Yankees starter has thrown 14 straight scoreless innings, allowing just six total hits against the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians. That’s lowered his ERA from 4.42 to 4.00 on the season. 

While New York hasn’t been great in Cortes’ starts (10-16), I’m going to ride the hot hand in this matchup. 

Pick: Yankees Moneyline (-185)

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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