A National League East battle will be taking place tonight between the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves as past of the loaded MLB slate. These teams opened up this four-game series yesterday, with the Braves producing a 5-4 win. The Nationals will look to even things up today with Foster Griffin on the mound, while the Braves will lean on Bryce Elder as their starting pitcher tonight.
The Braves enter as narrow -118 favorites to win on the moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook for tonight’s matchup. The Nationals hold -102 odds of getting the victory, with the run total set at nine.
Nationals at Braves prediction, preview
The Washington Nationals have largely exceeded expectations this season, and enter tonight’s matchup with a 55-55 overall record on the season. They have gone 7-6 since the All-Star break, but have dropped back-to-back games entering tonight’s matchup. On the season overall, Washington has gone an MLB-best 66-44 to the run line, and the run total is 60-45-5 to the over/under.
Foster Griffin will be making his 22nd start of the season for the Nationals. The 31-year-old enters with a 12-2 record, 2.76 ERA, a 1.032 WHIP, 17 home runs allowed, and 113 strikeouts tallied across his 124.0 innings pitched. Griffin earned his first All-Star appearance for his strong start to the season. He has allowed one or fewer earned runs in eight of his past nine starts. He has faced off with this Braves’ lineup in 39 at-bats in his career, and limited them to slash lines of .205/.244/.436 with a .680 OPS.
The Nationals offense has been a major unexpected bright spot this season. Collectively, Washington is slashing .254/.329/.446 with a .775 OPS. They rank third in the MLB in hits, first in runs, first in home runs, and 16th in strikeouts. CJ Abrams leads the team with 115 hits, along with 27 home runs and an MLB-best 82 RBI. James Wood adds 114 hits of his own, along with a team-high 30 home runs and 72 RBI. Daylen Lile and Luis Garcia Jr. also have 100+ hits on the season, along with 36 combined home runs. Jacob Young, Keibert Ruiz, and Dylan Crews also play key roles.
The Atlanta Braves leaped out to a 45-21 start to the season, but have slipped to 64-45. They maintain the top spot in the NL East, and now hold a seven-game cushion, even with this lead looking threatened over the past few weeks. Atlanta has gone 9-5 since returning from the All-Star Game and they enter riding the momentum of back-to-back victories. On the season, the Braves have gone 56-53 to the run line, and the run total is 52-51-6 to the over/under.
Bryce Elder will take the mound for the Braves, making his 21st start of the season. The 27-year-old enters with a 6-6 record, a 3.96 ERA, a 1.249 WHIP, 18 home runs allowed, and 98 strikeouts tallied across his 113.2 innings pitched. Elder has faced this Nationals lineup in 86 at-bats in his career. The Nationals have tallied 24 hits and two home runs in these opportunities, posting slash lines of .279/.326/.395 with a .721 OPS.
At the plate, the Braves are slashing a collective .248/.314/.414 with a .727 OPS on the season. Atlanta ranks ninth in hits, sixth in runs, fourth in home runs, and 23rd in strikeouts. Michael Harris II leads the team with 114 hits, along with 21 doubles, 19 home runs, and 61 RBI. Matt Olson boasts a team-leading 28 home runs and 66 RBI. Ozzie Albies and Mauricio Dubon also have 100+ hits, while Drake Baldwin and Austin Riley also play key roles.
Nationals at Braves pick, best bet
The ball was flying out last night in the series opener, with five home runs leading to the nine total runs in the game. But there should be a bit more optimism for the pitching matchup in this game. Both Foster Griffin and Bryce Elder have each done respectable jobs this season, and will be looking to steer their team to a win tonight.
But I am backing the Nationals to even up the series tonight behind the work of Griffin. While he had not pitched in the MLB before this season since 2022, he has performed at an All-Star level all season and is not showing signs of slowing down. Griffin faced this Braves team back on May 24th, and threw six scoreless innings while allowing just three hits en route to a 2-1 win. From this point on, Griffin is producing a 1.72 ERA, and the Nationals are 10-1 in these games.
While Bryce Elder has had a strong overall season, he is slipping a bit. After posting a 1.97 ERA across his first 11 games this season, the right-hander has an ERA of 7.00 with 13 home runs allowed across his past nine starts. He has not escaped a single start without allowing at least one earned run across this stretch, and his inability to keep the ball in the ballpark is problematic in this matchup. Elder did throw six innings of effective baseball against the Nationals this year, but this was during the first 11 game stretch where he produced such convincing results.
Washington has proven to be a resilient team all season and plays with a youthful spunk that is fun to watch. The Braves have looked like one of the best teams in baseball, but these two teams have split their pair of series against each other to this point, and the Nationals have shown capable of sticking with their divisional rival. Both these lineups are capable of catching fire and leading their team to the win. But expect Griffin to maintain his All-Star standard on the mound and do enough to put the Nationals in a position to win tonight.
Best bet: Atlanta Braves Moneyline (-108)
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