Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals Series Preview and Odds
Nationals Had A Rough Week

After surprising many people by winning 71 games in 2023, the Washington Nationals — behind an exciting core — got off to a decent start this MLB season and have been firmly in the Wild Card mix, albeit in the rather weak National League.
But, they’ve run into some bumps as of late and, after getting swept by the lowly New York Mets this week and have dropped five of their last six games.
Things don’t ease up for Washington as the Atlanta Braves come into town for a four-game weekend set starting on Thursday.
- The Braves are big -168 moneyline favorites and are favored by -110 on the Braves vs Nationals runline as well. The total is 8.5 runs.
Offense has been the issue for the Nationals as they scored just four runs in the final two games of the Mets series and were held to one and two runs, respectively, in a pair of losses to the Guardians last weekend.
Aspiring star shortstop C.J. Abrams has been banged up and hasn’t produced while Lane Thomas, who hit 28 home runs last year, can’t seem to break out of a season-long funk. Their MLB scores today could be on the low end in terms of offense.
The Braves continue to slog through some up-and-down play of their own as they split a two-game series with the Red Sox this week.
The games kind of embodied how Atlanta has played for the past month or so, as the Braves scored eight runs and got an awesome Max Fried start on Tuesday but were shut out as rookie starter Spencer Schwellenbach got shelled on Wednesday. Atlanta will look for some consistency against their division foe.
Braves vs Nationals 
Day/Time:
Location: Nationals Park; Washington, D.C.
Records: Braves (34-25)/Nationals (27-34)
Braves’ Rotation Lines Up Well
Atlanta has their top four healthy starters set to go in D.C. as Reynaldo López, Chris Sale, Charlie Morton and Max Fried are the probables against Washington’s Mitchell Parker, Jake Irvin, MacKenzie Gore and DJ Herz.
That gives the Braves a big advantage in terms of starting pitching even though Parker, Irvin and Gore have all been good this year — and Herz had a decent MLB debut on Tuesday against the Mets before he totally lost his command. Still, there’s a reason the Braves vs Nationals runline on Thursday favors Atlanta.
López’s 1.73 ERA is one of the best in baseball, Sale and Fried are perennial Cy Young candidates and the veteran Morton continues to get the job done.
One of the Braves’ strengths is its rotation depth, even with Spencer Strider sidelined due to Tommy John surgery, and that should be on full display this weekend. You just know that a team as talented as Atlanta is going on a run soon and this feels like a prime time for that to happen.
There are MLB rumors going around that Atlanta GM and president of baseball operations is on the hunt to improve the lineup which has surprisingly been the biggest reason why the Braves have underperformed. They have a bunch of players that get on base a ton, but remain just 12th in runs after leading MLB in pretty much every offensive category in 2023.
Outside of Marcell Ozuna, all of Atlanta’s top bats have either been just better than league average or below it, which is very surprising considering the bats the Braves have. For now, the rotation is leading the way.
Washington Needs to Push the Envelope
As an MLB team that doesn’t get on base much and doesn’t hit many home runs, the Nationals need to rely on their best attribute — speed — in order to produce runs and cover the Braves vs Nationals runline.
Washington leads the Majors in stolen bases and has seven different MLB players with 8+ steals. The running game was held in check by the Mets this week but it’ll have to get going against the Braves for Washington to have much of a chance.
Of course, that starts with actually getting baserunners and that has been easier said than done for Washington in 2024.
That task will be made more difficult against the Braves’ rotation that is in the top-ten in hits allowed per nine innings and 11th in WHIP and a Braves’ bullpen that is in the top-five in walks allowed per nine innings. Atlanta forces you to beat them and doesn’t give away much.
That means Washington will have to steal early and often when speedsters like Jacob Young and Thomas are able to reach base safely. The Nationals aren’t built to out-slug a team like the Braves.
Go With Braves To Win Easily
Consider taking Atlanta to win big in Thursday’s opener at -110 on the runline by two or more runs. López has been extremely hard to score against all season, the Nationals are in a bit of an offensive funk and the Braves’ high-leverage relievers will be rested.
- This feels like a Braves romp against the rookie Parker. The over 8.5 runs at -115 is intriguing too.
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