Washington Nationals at Tampa Bay Rays, 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 TB.
Game center
From the ESPN box score.
Top performers
Nationals- CJ AbramsBatting2-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI
- Andrew AlvarezPitching4.0 IP, 1 ER, 6 K
Rays- Jonny DeLucaBatting2-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI
- Nick MartinezPitching6.0 IP, 3 ER, 5 K
Scoring summary
- 7DeLuca homered to left (396 feet), Díaz scored.3–4
- 6Vilade homered to center (436 feet).3–2
- 6Abrams homered to right center (368 feet). Umpire review: call on the field was upheld.3–1
- 4Crews doubled to left, Abrams scored.2–1
- 3Díaz doubled to right, Walls scored.1–1
- 3Wood hit sacrifice fly to center, Tena scored.1–0
The pick
Reconstructed from what was known before the game: the ratings at that point and the closing line.
Rays 55%
Forecast Elo ratings alone
How often that comes true: MLB favorites the forecast gave 55–60% have won 55.5% of 2,596 graded games.
- Market
- TB 55%
- ML WSH +114 / TB -137
- Pre-line forecast
- TB 56%
- Elo + market-implied
- Elo ratings
- TB 56%
- Ratings vs. market
- +1.1 pts
- TB: Elo 56.4%, market 55.3%
- Fair odds
- TB -124
- WSH +124 · the forecast as odds, no margin
- Pregame projection
- WSH 4.0 – 4.5 TB
- Margin from the forecast, posted total 8.5
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 | TB | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team rating | 1477 | 1506 | Elo entering the game; 1500 is league average |
| Home field | — | +18 | Worth 18 Elo in MLB |
| Starting pitchers | +8 | +6 | WSH: Andrew Alvarez: team allows 0.42 fewer runs than with its usual starter (≈6 weighted starts) · TB: Nick Martinez: team allows 0.28 fewer runs than with its usual starter (≈10 weighted starts) |
| Elo ratings | TB +45 Elo | TB 56.4% | |
| Market-implied ratings | TB 55.8% | Team strength as past closing lines priced it, same game context | |
| Pre-line forecast | TB 55.9% | 15% Elo, 85% market-implied (log-odds blend) | |
| Forecast | TB 55.3% | 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. Opponent Elo: how strong the teams each has played are, 1st the toughest.
| WSH | Stat | TB |
|---|---|---|
| 1st of 305.4 | Runs scored | 4.416th of 30 |
| 28th of 305.2 | Runs allowed | 4.311th of 30 |
| 7th of 30+0.2 | Margin | +0.19th of 30 |
| 3rd of 306–4 | Last 10 | 4–621st of 30 |
| 2nd of 3024–15 | Road vs home | 25–101st of 30 |
| 3rd of 301508 | Opponent Elo | 150212th of 30 |
| 25th of 301477 | Elo rating | 150612th 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 |  TB |
|---|---|---|
| Run line | 47–30 | 43–30 |
| Last 10 | 7–3 | 6–4 |
| Favorite | 7–9 | 25–17 |
| Underdog | 40–21 | 18–13 |
| Overs–unders | 47–26–4 | 33–36–4 |
| Overs–unders, last 10 | 7–3 | 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 2–9 TB in their last 11 meetings; the forecast called 6 of 11.