MLB Best Bets Sunday: Picks & Predictions for Braves vs Nationals (June 9)

MLB action on Sunday, June 9, features all 30 teams, including Mets vs Phillies in the MLB London Series to kick off the slate at 10:10 a.m. ET on ESPN.

Our MLB best bets for Sunday also include a moneyline pick for Braves vs. Nationals.

MLB Best Bets Sunday: Picks & Predictions (June 9)

The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that our MLB betting staff is targeting from today's slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.

Game	Time (ET)	Pick
	10:10 a.m.	Over 10.5 (-106)
	1:35 p.m.	Nationals ML (+146)
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our MLB Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game.

Sunday, June 9

10:10 a.m. ET

ESPN

Over 10.5 (-106)

By Sean Paul

The Mets will hand the ball to José Quintana, a veteran left-hander who is still hoping to find his form in 2024. He’s pitching to a 5.17 ERA with pretty poor peripherals, including a 5.23 xERA, 5.25 FIP and 4.67 xFIP. The 35-year-old southpaw has allowed at least three runs in four of his past five starts.

Meanwhile, Phillies fans have clamored for Taijuan Walker’s removal from the rotation in favor of Spencer Turnbull. I can’t blame the sometime over-reactive fans for wanting the better pitcher starting, as Walker is easily one of the worst starters in MLB. You can’t find a single stat that points to Walker turning things around; his 5.73 ERA is joined by a 6.14 xERA, 5.66 FIP and 5.00 xFIP. It doesn’t help that he ranks in the bottom five percentile in hard-hit percentage and barrel percentage.

New York should have success against Walker. The Mets offense owns a 106 wRC+, and it’s starting to get even better, with Francisco Lindor posting a 172 wRC+ since May 20 and Mark Vientos finally realizing his former top-50 prospect status.

I also like the Phillies' bats in this matchup against another pretty ineffective starter in Quintana. The Phillies touched up another lefty, Sean Manaea, for seven hits and six runs in just 3 2/3 innings on Friday. Philadelphia has a better batting average and slugging percentage against southpaws than righties. Plus, each of the three everyday lefty batters — Bryson Stott, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber — have reverse splits.

Given the favorable matchups for both offenses and the circumstances of playing in such a hitter-friendly ballpark, I'll take the Over.

Pick: Over 10.5 (-106)

Sunday, June 9

1:35 p.m. ET

MLB.TV

Nationals ML (+146)

By Kenny Ducey

Hurston Waldrep is an utterly exciting prospect with a great strikeout touch and explosive stuff, but the 2023 first-round pick simply isn’t ready for this level quite yet in my eyes. Waldrep got off to a rocky start in Double-A in April before coming back to Earth a bit with a solid 1.19 ERA in five May outings — and apparently those five starts were enough to not only earn him a spot start in the big leagues but a crooked line on the road Sunday.

The right-hander did punch out 11 in his lone start in Triple-A, but he surrendered a home run and allowed three to cross the plate in all. I think this start is pretty dangerous given Waldrep had pitched to a ton of fly balls this season in the minor leagues and has pitched around trouble with strikeouts. It’s incredibly rare that we see a heavy-strikeout arm in the minor leagues see those numbers translate in their first taste of big league action — in fact, it can take years.

The Nationals are roughly average in terms of punchouts and have fared excellently against power pitchers this season with a .242 batting average and solid .708 OPS. I think they should be well-equipped to hit Waldrep here despite a recent slump.

On the hill, they have an interesting young arm of their own in DJ Herz throwing. He was pretty effective in his big-league debut around a tough fifth inning when he was hurt by the heart of the Mets’ order. I do think he can find enough here to get Washington a win against a team ranked 12th in wRC+ to lefties that has been a shell of itself at the plate.

Pick: Nationals ML (+146)