At 4:05 PM ET, the Braves and Nationals square off in an NL East matchup. This one is taking place at Nationals Park in Washington, and the Nationals are the slight money line underdog (+116). The money line odds have the Braves at -136, and the over/under line is currently at 8 runs.
Charlie Morton is starting for the Braves, and he is facing off against MacKenzie Gore. The Braves are currently 2nd in the NL East, while the Nationals are 3rd with a record of 28-35.
Atlanta vs. Washington Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Braves at Nationals
- Where: Nationals Park Washington
- Date: Saturday, June 8th
- Betting Odds ATL -136 | WSH +116 O/U 8
Braves vs Nationals Last Game Recap
It was a low-scoring game in the most recent game of this Nationals vs Braves series. Washington went into the matchup as +174 underdogs and squeaked out a 2-1 win. Both teams scored one run in the first inning, and the Braves could only muster one more run in the 4th inning. As for the Nationals, they scored the game's go-ahead run in the 8th, and the Braves went down quietly in the 9th.
Jesse Winker was the difference for the Nationals, as he homered twice, scored three times, and finished with two RBIs. Marcell Ozuna was the only Braves hitter to have more than one hit. He went 2/4 with two doubles.
Washington got a good outing from Jake Irvin, who went six innings and gave up just two hits and no earned runs. He finished with four strikeouts but issued two walks. Kyle Finnegan closed things out for the Nationals.
Braves Preview
Atlanta has been a solid run line bet this season, posting a 31-30 record overall and 17-13 on the road. Their average run margin in games they have won is +3.7 runs. The Braves are 35-26 overall, and they are eight games behind the Phillies in the NL East.
When the over/under line is set at 8 runs, the Braves have gone 4-2 this season. Their over/under record for the year is 21-38, and the average run total in their games is 8.3 runs. Atlanta is 12-9 in the division and 5-5 in their last 10 games heading into today's matchup with the Nationals.
Charlie Morton gets the start for the Braves today as he faces the Nationals on the road. He has made 11 starts this year and has a record of 3-2 with an ERA of 3.88. Morton's WHIP for the season is currently 1.29. In his last outing, he finished with a no-decision, going six innings and not giving up a run to the Athletics. Before that, he had given up at least two earned runs in three straight starts. Morton's ERA at home is 5.18, compared to 3.12 on the road.
Marcell Ozuna has been one of the league's top hitters this season, batting .316 with 18 home runs and 55 RBIs. He has also been hot of late, going 9/26 in his last seven games, with two homers and six RBIs. Overall, the Braves are 10th in scoring at 4.4 runs per game, and they have been a slightly better offensive team on the road this season.
As a team, the Braves are 10th in batting average and have the league's 8th best slugging percentage. So far, they have been a pretty good home run-hitting team, but their collective on-base percentage is just 22nd in the league. Atlanta's lineup has been a bit strikeout prone this season, as they are 15th in the league in strikeouts.
Nationals Preview
Washington is 28-35 overall and tied with the Braves for 2nd place in the NL East. They have covered the run line in 34 of 57 games as slight underdogs, and their games have gone over the line 58.7% of the time this season. The under has hit in their last two games.
As underdogs, the Nationals are 25-32 and have a 37-26 run line record overall. They have gone 4-6 in their last 10 games and are looking to snap a two-series losing streak today.
Left-hander MacKenzie Gore gets the start for the Nationals today as he faces the Braves at home. He has made 12 starts this year and has a record of 4-5 with a 3.57 ERA. In his 12 appearances, Gore has turned in four quality starts and is averaging 10.57 strikeouts per nine innings. Gore's most recent outing didn't go well, as he took the loss after giving up six earned runs in 4 1/3 innings of work. Before that, he had won two straight starts. So far, he has been much better on the road, with an ERA of 2.23 compared to 5.18 at home.
Washington has struggled to score runs this season, averaging just 3.9 runs per game, which is 25th in the league. They have been even worse in terms of power, as their 50 home runs is also 17th in the league. As a team, the Nationals are batting just .230, and they are near the bottom of the league in terms of slugging percentage and OPS.
CJ Abrams comes into the game with a team-high 10 home runs, but he is batting just .246 for the season and has gone 3/15 in his last four games. Joey Meneses is the Nationals' top run producer so far, with 30 RBIs, but he is also batting just .228. Eddie Rosario is 2nd on the team with seven homers, but he is batting just .181 for the season.
Braves vs. Nationals Prediction: Nationals ML +116
With the Nationals at +116 on the money line, we see this as a great value pick for today's Braves vs. Nationals matchup. Our predicted final score is 5-4 in favor of the Nationals, giving us a lot of value with the Nationals on the money line.
Looking at the starting pitchers, our projections have Charlie Morton finishing with more strikeouts than MacKenzie Gore. However, our projections have Gore picking up the win, as Morton is 17th among starters in terms of picking up a win.
