In Saturday’s only late-night MLB showdown, the Los Angeles Angels host the Washington Nationals in SoCal.
The pregame narrative: Mike Soroka hit a strikeout milestone last time out and will look to continue mowing down hitters in a Grade-A matchup. Washington is a slight road underdog after winning 15-9 in L.A. last night.
Check out my Nationals vs. Angels predictions, with a +275 parlay featuring CJ Abrams and Josh Bell.
Nationals vs. Angels predictions
Parlay: Soroka over 5.5 Ks | Abrams 1+ hits | Bell under 1.5 bases (+275)
Soroka over 5.5 strikeouts (-148): Soroka doesn’t have the nastiest stuff out there, but he’s trending up ahead of what should be a very promising matchup in the strikeout department.
- In four starts this month, he has 31 Ks and has cashed this bet three times (he had five Ks in the one start that went under).
- The Angels have the second-highest K rate in the majors (26.6%).
The Calgary native just set a career high with 10 strikeouts last time out — after matching his previous career high in Ks, with nine, in his previous start.
In what has been an injury-plagued career, it’s nice to see Soroka find some solid ground.
His 5.06 ERA is nothing to write home about, but he’s at least giving the Nationals some length. Dating back to mid-May, he has worked into (or through) the sixth inning in seven straight outings.
MLB SGP legs
Abrams 1+ hits (-295): Coming off a three-hit night in the series opener, this is understandably the lightest ask of my SGP legs on Saturday.
- Abrams has 1+ hits in 46 of 68 (67.6%) starts this season.
- Over his past 17 games, he’s 14-3 vs. this prop while posting a .366/.444/.563 slash line.
Abrams is the Nationals’ leadoff hitter, so he’ll have as many plate appearances as anyone in Washington’s lineup tonight.
He’s the quintessential leadoff man, with excellent speed (17 steals, t-12th in MLB) and contact (.290 xBA, 87th percentile).
Bell under 1.5 total bases (-167): Bell’s batting average has ticked up slightly this month, but his productivity level isn’t moving in the right direction.
- 2025 season: .194/.282/.355, 80 wRC+, 10.3% barrel rate
- June 2025: .219/.275/.342, 72 wRC+, 9.0% barrel rate
The switch-hitting Bell is typically stronger from the left side, but Angels starter Kyle Hendricks is tougher on left-hitting players. So any perceived advantage there might be zapped.
Hendricks has held lefty hitters to a .370 SLG this season.
Also, Bell is just 4-for-25 (.160) against Hendricks with only one extra-base hit.
Bell has gone under 1.5 bases in 14 of 20 starts this month and is averaging 1.3 bases/game.
Nationals vs. Angels predictions made at 3:15 p.m. ET on 06/28/2025.
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Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles — especially for MLB markets or NFL/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he’ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.