After finally snapping their nine-game winning streak in emphatic fashion on Wednesday night, the New York Yankees (61-65) will go for a series win over the Washington Nationals (58-69) in the rubber match of this three-game set. First pitch of Thursday’s matinee is set for 1:05 p.m. ET from Yankee Stadium. Veteran lefty Patrick Corbin (8-11, 4.71 ERA) gets the ball for the Nats, while New York will use reliever Michael King (3-5, 3.26) as an opener as they continue to patch together an injury-ravaged rotation.
The Yankees enter as heavy -205 favorites on the moneyline at DraftKings Sportsbook, with Washington at +170. The run total is set at 8.5.
Nationals-Yankees picks: Thursday, August 24th
Injury report
Nationals
Out: RP Carl Edwards Jr. (shoulder), RP Thaddeus Ward (shoulder), RP Tanner Rainey (elbow), OF Victor Robles (back), RHP Rico Garcia (bicep)
Yankees
Out: SP Nestor Cortes (shoulder), 1B Anthony Rizzo (concussion)
Starting pitchers
Patrick Corbin vs. Michael King
It’s once again been a mediocre year for Corbin, but the lefty is on pace for his lowest full-season ERA since 2019 — and he’s been particularly good this month. The 34-year-old has posted a 2.08 ERA across three starts, including six innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts last time out in a win over the Boston Red Sox. The stuff isn’t nearly what it was at its All-Star peak, but when he’s keeping his fastball elevated and burying his slider down, he’s been serviceable enough.
With Nestor Cortes out, the Yankees will turn to King to make his second appearance as an opener this month. The first came back on August 12, when the righty gave up two runs on four hits over two innings against the Miami Marlins, but he’s pitched as many as 3.2 innings in an outing this season and New York will hope to get as much length out of him as they can. Rookie Jhony Brito (4-6, 5.43) would be a candidate to handle the middle innings, although he did just get shelled for seven runs (six earned) in 2.1 frames last week.
Over/Under pick
The Yankees finally snapped out of their offensive doldrums on Wednesday night, with three Aaron Judge homers leading them to a 9-1 win. I’ll be backing the over again in this spot, although I expect the Nationals to do their fair share of the scoring on Thursday: It’s unclear how New York is going to navigate the bulk of the innings, but if it’s Brito, he’s been prone to giving up some very crooked numbers this season. There’s a chance that Corbin shoves against a depleted Yankees lineup, but New York is much better against lefties than righties.
Pick: Over 8.5
Moneyline pick
There’s simply no reason for there to be this much juice on the Nats, a team that’s been playing far, far better baseball than the Yankees of late — and has a far more settled pitching situation on Thursday afternoon. Corbin has shown that he still has enough left in the tank to navigate lesser lineups, which New York would certainly qualify as, and I’ll back the hotter team with edge on the mound at odds this good.
Pick: Nationals +170
