Washington Nationals vs Tampa Bay Rays Picks and Predictions for Sunday, June 21, 2026

By: Cameron Ross Published 06/21/2026, 01:10 AM ET

Nationals vs Rays Game Information

The Washington Nationals stay on the road Sunday afternoon for a 1:40 PM matchup at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL, against the Tampa Bay Rays. Washington has 40 wins and 37 losses this season, having won 3 of the last 4 after Saturday's win, which ended a 2-game losing streak. The Tampa Bay Rays stay home Sunday, 11 games above .500, but they have dropped 4 of the last 5 overall. Stay in the news with our MLB Picks.

Nationals Preview

Offensively, Washington has compiled a .247 batting average this season, scoring 409 runs on 641 hits. The Nationals have a .321 OBP and a .421 team slugging percentage. The Washington pitching has been shaky this season, with a 4.66 team ERA, but they have allowed 10 runs over their last 3 victories. CJ Abrams leads the Washington offense this season with a .283 batting average and 56 RBI's. James Wood has a .272 batting average and leads the team with 20 home runs.

Rays Preview

The Tampa Bay Rays have a .256 batting average this season and have scored 320 runs on 616 hits. Tampa Bay has a .333 OBP and a .381 team slugging percentage. Tampa Bay's pitching has been solid, with a 3.92 team ERA, but they have allowed 14 runs over their last 4 losses. Yandy Diaz leads the Tampa Bay offense with a .322 batting average. Junior Caminero has a .284 batting average and leads the team with 15 home runs. Jonathan Aranda has a .275 batting average and leads Tampa Bay with 51 RBI's this season.

Nationals vs Rays Pitching Matchup

Andrew Alvarez is on the mound for Washington on Sunday, looking to improve on his season. Alvarez is 1-0 this season with a 3.49 ERA over 28.1 innings. Nick Martinez will be on the bump for Tampa Bay, looking to continue his success this season. Martinez has 6 wins, 2 losses, and a 2.60 ERA across 83 innings.

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Nationals vs. Rays Pick

Both teams have found success thus far this season, but Tampa Bay is the better team in this matchup. Tampa Bay will have the edge on both sides of the dish, giving them a huge advantage on Sunday. Look for Tampa Bay to do the work as they close this series out with a win at home against a solid Washington team.

Pick: Tampa Bay Rays
Secondary: Under
Lean: Yandy Diaz Over 1.5 Bases

Final Score Prediction: Tampa Bay Rays win 4-1.