The Washington Nationals welcome in the Philadelphia Phillies in Major League Baseball action today. The game is scheduled for a 4:05 p.m. start time and it will be televised live on MLB.tv. Currently the odds for the game have the Nationals favored to pick up the win here at home.

Today's game should be a good one. The Washington Nationals own a 1.5-game lead over the New York Mets in the National League East and they've posted a record of 13-6 in home games so far this season.

A solid pitching matchup between Stephen Strasburg and Cole Hamels, it could be a lower-scoring affair as well. Hamels has pitched extremely well this season, albeit for a really poor team that doesn't seem to be going anywhere this season. Philadelphia is only 6-16 in road games this year, Hamels has gone 2-2 in his four road starts, allowing 13 earned runs in 26 1/3 innings. 

Hamels is probably auditioning himself to get picked up by anybody before the trade deadline as pitching (or being a valuable player in baseball) for the Phillies has to have its problems. For what it's worth, current Nationals own a .204 average against Hamels in 426 at bats, so there is a big sample size there. Ryan Zimmerman and Dan Uggla have both homered three times against him, but neither has sustained long-term success.

Strasburg has battled arm problems in his career, now he's back and it getting bashed around with a 3-4 win/loss record with an ERA of 5.98 this season. The Nats have a .219 average against him in 146 at bats, only Carlos Ruiz has homered off of Strasburg. Much like Hamels, home games have been an intricate part of Strasburg this season.

On the road Strasburg has a 2-2 record with an ERA of 7.56 in 25 innings. Home games have seen Strasburg win just one of his three starts, but he has struck out 14 hitters in 15 2/3 innings. 

Hard not to back the Nationals here.

Free Pick: Washington

 NFL Free Pick: Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears

According to professional sports bettor Steve Fezzik, the early bird can catch a profitable worm if they put money down on Green Bay's opening week showing against the Chicago Bears. With the line currently at -4.5 at most Vegas sports books, Fezzik predicts it will move to -6.5 come game day, as no one is going to be betting on the Jay Cutler-helmed Bears, so the money will pour in on Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. With that being the case, time strike early while the iron is hot.

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