On Friday night at 7:40 p.m. ET, the Washington Nationals visit the Chicago White Sox for the first game of their three-game weekend series at Rate Field. While neither team is expected to be a serious playoff contender this season, each of them has some exciting young producers starting to make their way to the majors. Even though it’s not the most compelling series of the weekend, it should be a fun Friday night matchup with plenty of potential highlights.

Each team will use an opener in front of a veteran in this matchup, which will make the beginning of the game unique. For most of the innings, Erick Fedde will pitch for the White Sox against his former team, while Miles Mikolas will take the bulk reliever role for the Nationals. Both pitchers throw to a lot of contact, and the weather should also be offense-friendly, setting up plenty of potential excitement.

The White Sox are slight home favorites at -126 on the Moneyline, with the over/under at 9.5 runs. Let’s break down this matchup with some odds and lines at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Nationals at White Sox prediction, preview

The White Sox are coming home after a very successful trip to Sacramento and Phoenix, scoring exactly 22 runs and taking two of three games in both of their series against the A’s and the Diamondbacks. The offense has been heating up, and I highlighted them as my top stack of the day for MLB DFS contests since they should be in a good spot against Mikolas.

Before Mikolas enters the game, lefty PJ Poulin will serve as the opener, likely to contend with Munetaka Murakami (hitting third) and Carson Montgomery (fifth). Poulin’s start also means Andrew Benintendi is on the bench while righty Everson Pereira slots in as leadoff hitter.

Mikolas has a 9.15 ERA and 7.12 FIP in his five games this season, allowing 22 runs on 29 hits in 19 2/3 innings. He has served up six homers, including four to right-handed hitters who have a .446 wOBA against him on the season. Both against Poulin and Mikolas, the White Sox righties should be in a good spot to get plenty of hard contact.

On the other side, the White Sox will use lefty Bryan Hudson as their opener to try to slow down James Wood and CJ Abrams. Hudson has a 1.69 ERA and 2.77 FIP with 14 strikeouts and 10 2/3 innings. However, lefties have hit .333 against him in the small sample size to start the season.

After Hudson, Erick Fedde will get the call against his former team. He’s 0-3 with the White Sox this season, posting a 3.92 ERA and 4.89 FIP while allowing 10 runs (nine earned) on 16 hits in 20 2/3 innings. Like Mikolas, he pitches to plenty of contact, which could be dangerous in this matchup, especially to Wood, who I included in my top home run props of the day since I like his chances of going yard.

Wood has been on a tear lately with three homers in his last three games and is up to 10 dingers on the year. Abrams also homered in the Nats’ last game and is averaging over 10 FPTS along with Wood and Murakami. Miguel Vargas, Colson Montgomery and Daylen Lile are other young hitters who are surging right now as well, giving this matchup lots of run-scoring potential.

Nationals at White Sox pick, best bet

Best Bet: Over 9.5 total runs (+100)

Over the last week, the White Sox have scored 44 runs in six games (7.3 runs per game), and the Nationals have scored 37 runs in seven games (5.3 runs per game). With both teams using pitchers that allow contact in a homer-friendly environment, it should be a game with double-digit runs scored.

Strong Lean: White Sox -1.5 (+155)

The White Sox have the better starting pitcher and the better form for their offense right now. I expect plenty of runs on both sides, so Chicago covering this small run-line should be a good possibility, especially at these juicy odds.