Colorado Rockies vs Washington Nationals Picks and Prediction for Tuesday August 25 2026

The Colorado Rockies travel to Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., to face the Washington Nationals on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, with first pitch scheduled for 6:45 PM ET and coverage available on MLB.TV. Colorado enters the matchup at 50-80 overall and 23-42 on the road, while Washington is 61-71 overall with a 27-36 record at home. Both teams have struggled recently, with the Rockies dropping five straight games in the supplied recent sample and the Nationals losing four of their last five. Washington has already won two of the first three meetings in the season series and owns the stronger overall record, while Colorado continues to battle serious pitching problems. At the time of this writing the odds were not released. Before making your wagers on Tuesday's matchup, be sure to check out our free MLB picks for more baseball betting predictions and analysis.

Starting Pitchers

Colorado is expected to start Kyle Freeland, who enters Tuesday with a 4-10 record, 6.37 ERA and 1.46 WHIP across 124.1 innings. Freeland has allowed 153 hits while striking out 103 and walking 28, and he has surrendered 24 home runs. Washington is expected to counter with Andrew Alvarez, who owns a 2-5 record, 3.60 ERA and 1.34 WHIP over 80 innings. Alvarez has allowed 71 hits while recording 74 strikeouts, 36 walks and only four home runs. The statistical gap between the two starters is significant, with Washington holding the stronger ERA and home-run prevention profile entering this matchup.

Rockies Continue to Search for Answers

Colorado enters Tuesday at 50-80 and has struggled badly away from home, posting a 23-42 road record. The Rockies have also dropped each of their last five games in the supplied recent sample, losing 7-2, 4-3 and 9-1 to Cleveland after two close defeats against Los Angeles. The most concerning part of that stretch has been the combination of inconsistent scoring and an inability to keep opponents off the board.

Offensively, Colorado is batting .252 with 617 runs, 1,113 hits and 144 home runs. The Rockies own a .322 on-base percentage and .416 slugging percentage. Those numbers are not disastrous, and in fact the club has produced more hits than Washington, but the offense has not been strong enough to overcome one of the weakest pitching profiles in the league.

Pitching remains the major problem. Colorado owns a 5.54 team ERA and 1.52 WHIP while allowing opponents to hit .289. The staff has issued 423 walks and recorded only 880 strikeouts. That combination creates constant traffic on the bases and puts the Rockies in difficult situations almost every night. Against a Washington offense that has shown more power and a better slugging percentage, that weakness could become decisive.

Nationals Have the Better Matchup on Paper

Washington enters Tuesday at 61-71 and has also been in poor recent form, going 1-4 over its last five games. The Nationals dropped three straight in Miami after a 2-0 loss in Texas, with their only victory in the supplied recent sample coming by a 6-0 score. While Washington has not played well lately, this matchup offers a clear opportunity to stop the slide against a Colorado team that has lost five straight.

The Nationals are batting .248 with 682 runs, 1,118 hits and 183 home runs. Washington also owns a .324 on-base percentage and .430 slugging percentage. The biggest offensive edge comes in power, where the Nationals have hit 39 more home runs than Colorado, and in overall run production, where they have scored 65 more runs.

Washington has also been the better pitching team, even though its numbers are far from elite. The Nationals carry a 4.68 team ERA and 1.39 WHIP while holding opponents to a .257 batting average. They have recorded 1,013 strikeouts against 467 walks. Those figures still leave room for concern, but they are clearly superior to Colorado's 5.54 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and .289 opponent batting average.

Colorado Rockies vs Washington Nationals Picks and Prediction

Pick: Washington Nationals Moneyline

Washington is the preferred side because it owns the stronger overall profile in nearly every category that matters most. The Nationals have the better record, the better season series mark, more home runs, more runs scored and the stronger team pitching numbers. The starting-pitching matchup also favors Washington, with the expected starter carrying a much lower ERA and allowing far fewer home runs. Colorado's 23-42 road record and five-game losing streak make it difficult to trust the Rockies in this spot. Take the Washington Nationals on the moneyline.

Pick: Over 9.0

This matchup has enough pitching risk to make the Over attractive if the total is set around 9.0. Colorado owns a 5.54 team ERA and has allowed opponents to hit .289, while Washington's 4.68 ERA is also well above ideal. The Rockies have surrendered seven, four, nine, six and seven runs across their last five games, while Washington has enough power to take advantage of Colorado's pitching problems. The first two meetings between these teams this season also produced 10 and 15 combined runs before the third game finished 8-0. If the total is set at 9.0, take the Over.

This game preview was written prior to the completion of game play on Monday, August 24, 2026.