Washington Nationals at Chicago White Sox, MLB forecast
Win probability
Starts from the pregame forecast, then moves with the score and the time left after each inning. Above the line favors CHW.
Game center
From the ESPN box score.
Top performers
Nationals- Joey MenesesBatting4-4, 2 RBI
- Trevor WilliamsPitching5.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 K
White Sox- Eloy JimenezBatting1-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI
- Chris FlexenPitching4.2 IP, 3 ER, 5 K
Scoring summary
- 8Robles hit sacrifice fly to left, Ruiz scored.6–3
- 8Pitch 5 : Ball In Play6–3
- 8Pitch 4 : Strike 2 Swinging5–3
- 8Pitch 3 : Ball 25–3
- 8Pitch 2 : Strike 1 Looking5–3
- 8Pitch 1 : Ball 15–3
- 8Lipscomb singled to center, Senzel scored, Ruiz to third.5–3
- 8Pitch 3 : Ball In Play5–3
- 8Pitch 2 : Strike 2 Foul4–3
- 8Pitch 1 : Strike 1 Foul4–3
- 8Ruiz singled to right, Nuñez scored, Senzel to second.4–3
- 8Pitch 1 : Ball In Play4–3
- 5Pham singled to left, Lopez scored.3–3
- 5Pitch 4 : Ball In Play3–3
- 5Pitch 3 : Ball 23–2
- 5Pitch 2 : Strike 1 Looking3–2
- 5Pitch 1 : Ball 13–2
- 5Shewmake hit sacrifice fly to right, Ramos scored, Lopez to third.3–2
- 5Pitch 2 : Ball In Play3–2
- 5Pitch 1 : Strike 1 Looking3–1
- 5Meneses singled to left, Abrams scored and Rosario scored.3–1
- 5Pitch 1 : Ball In Play3–1
- 5Rosario singled to right, Lipscomb scored, Rosario to second, Abrams to third.1–1
- 5Pitch 3 : Ball In Play1–1
- 5Pitch 2 : Strike 1 Looking0–1
- 5Pitch 1 : Ball 10–1
- 2Jiménez homered to center (408 feet).0–1
- 2Pitch 3 : Ball In Play0–1
- 2Pitch 2 : Strike 1 Looking0–1
- 2Pitch 1 : Ball 10–0
The pick
Reconstructed from what was known before the game: the ratings at that point and the closing line.
Nationals 52%
Forecast Elo ratings alone
How often that comes true: MLB favorites the forecast gave 50–55% have won 52.7% of 2,871 graded games.
- Market
- WSH 52%
- ML WSH -120 / CHW +100
- Pre-line forecast
- WSH 53%
- Elo + market-implied
- Elo ratings
- WSH 59%
- Ratings vs. market
- +7.3 pts
- WSH: Elo 59.4%, market 52.2%
- Fair odds
- WSH -109
- CHW +109 · the forecast as odds, no margin
- Pregame projection
- WSH 3.8 – 3.7 CHW
- Margin from the forecast, posted total 7.5
How the number is built
Elo inputs in rating points (higher favors that team; 25–28 Elo is about a point of spread in football and basketball), then how the pieces combine.
| Factor | WSH | CHW | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team rating | 1479 | 1426 | Elo entering the game; 1500 is league average |
| Home field | — | +18 | Worth 18 Elo in MLB |
| Starting pitchers | +13 | −19 | WSH: Trevor Williams: team allows 0.63 fewer runs than with its usual starter (≈10 weighted starts) · CHW: Chris Flexen: team allows 0.97 more runs than with its usual starter (≈9 weighted starts) |
| Elo ratings | WSH +66 Elo | WSH 59.4% | |
| Market-implied ratings | WSH 52.2% | Team strength as past closing lines priced it, same game context | |
| Pre-line forecast | WSH 53.3% | 15% Elo, 85% market-implied (log-odds blend) | |
| Forecast | WSH 52.2% | Follows the market (vig removed): in testing, adding the ratings made it less accurate | |
Tale of the tape
This season coming into the game, regular season, each number with its league rank (the longer the bar, the higher). Home and road: the host's record at home against the visitor's on the road.
| WSH | Stat | CHW |
|---|---|---|
| 19th of 304.1 | Runs scored | 2.930th of 30 |
| 13th of 304.3 | Runs allowed | 5.127th of 30 |
| 19th of 30−0.2 | Margin | −2.230th of 30 |
| 14th of 305–5 | Last 10 | 6–47th of 30 |
| 12th of 3012–10 | Road vs home | 8–1327th of 30 |
Rating history
Each team's Elo over the last two seasons. Hover or drag to compare on any date.
Recent form
Last five results, and whether the forecast hit.
Against the line
How each team has done against the closing spread and total, coming into this game.
| This season |  WSH |  CHW |
|---|---|---|
| Run line | 25–14 | 20–21 |
| Last 10 | 7–3 | 6–4 |
| Favorite | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Underdog | 23–13 | 19–21 |
| Overs–unders | 17–21–1 | 18–22–1 |
| Overs–unders, last 10 | 4–6 | 3–7 |
Against each game's closing line. Books set every line knowing these records: across 3,901 past games, the team with the better record against the spread so far that season covered 51.2%, short of the 52.4% a standard −110 bet needs, and over/under streaks held 48.0% of the time. They describe the past.
Head to head
WSH 2–1 CHW in their last 3 meetings; the forecast called 2 of 3.