Braves vs Nationals

Braves vs Nationals – MLB Odds & Picks

Written by on August 18, 2020

Austin Voth is one of the Washington Nationals’ top prospects and while he has thrown well so far this season, he’s still looking for a victory. Roth and the Nats are underdogs on the MLB odds for Tuesday’s matchup at NL East rival Atlanta.

How to Bet Nationals at Braves MLB Odds & TV Info

  • When: Tuesday, 7:10 PM ET
  • Where: Truist Park
  • Probable pitchers (away/home): Austin Voth/Josh Tomlin
  • TV: MLB Extra Innings
  • Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
  • Opening MLB Lines: Braves -115, Nationals -105 (total 10)
Why Bet on Washington?

Left fielder Juan Soto was named National League Player of the Week on Monday after leading the NL in slugging percentage (1.077), OPS (1.610), home runs (5) and RBI (12) during the week. He has hit safely in nine of the 11 games and has homered in four of the last seven.

Will the Nats have first baseman/DH Howie Kendrick on Tuesday? He was out of the starting lineup for a third straight game Monday due to hamstring tightness. Kendrick has hit the ball well enough when available this season, though his .300 batting average has been rather empty as it comes with a modest .333 on-base percentage and a .380 slugging percentage.

Manager Davey Martinez said injured starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg will have a medical evaluation done by a hand specialist in a couple of days. The right-hander was placed on the injured list Saturday with carpal tunnel neuritis in his right hand. Unfortunately, Martinez believes the issue won’t be solved anytime soon.

“We want to have a follow-up on Monday, going to do some nerve tests on his hand,” Martinez said. “I don’t think this is going to get better soon. We tried. Right now, we are going to try and see if we can get him healthy.”

It’s Austin Voth (0-2, 3.21) on the mound. Voth took a loss Thursday after yielding three earned runs over four innings against the Mets. Voth tallied just two strikeouts while issuing two walks and surrendering six hits, including a pair of home runs. He fell to 0-2 on the season while watching his ERA balloon from 1.80 to 3.21. Voth’s outing was ultimately soured by homers from Dominic Smith (solo) and Tomas Nido (two-run).

Despite posting a 2.70 ERA (4 ER/16.2 IP), Voth is winless (as are the Nationals) in four career outings (three starts) against the Atlanta Braves.

Why Bet on Atlanta?

Before Monday’s game, the Braves activated 1B/DH Matt Adams from the 10-day injured list. Adams went down with a left hamstring strain earlier this month. He could see a decent number of at-bats out of the DH spot with Ronald Acuna Jr. (wrist) sidelined. Both Acuna and Ozzie Albies are on the injured list.

Acuna hit three home runs in last Sunday’s doubleheader sweep in Philadelphia, and he has produced a 1.306 OPS through his first 10 games in August. There had been some hope he’d be ready to play Monday after resting throughout this weekend, but that plan was nixed when he was still feeling sore on Saturday.

Reliever Chad Sobotka was activated to take Acuna’s spot on the roster before Saturday’s game against the Miami Marlins but the team sent Sobotka back down Monday to make room for Adams.

This may be the last series the Braves are without one, or both, of them. The offense only posted eight runs over the weekend against the Marlins, but perhaps the familiar confines of Truist Park will do the team some good.

It’s Josh Tomlin on the mound. Tomlin (1-0, 1.59) will attempt to stabilize the rotation as he makes his first start this season. The veteran has spent the past two years as a key multi-inning option in Atlanta’s bullpen. He should be stretched out enough to go at least four innings.

The Braves have been forced to mix and match their rotation after losing Mike Soroka to a season-ending injury and Mike Foltynewicz and Sean Newcomb to ineffectiveness.

Game Trends
  • Nationals are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings in Atlanta.
  • Nationals are 2-7 in the last 9 meetings.
  • Under is 10-3 in the last 13 meetings.
  • Under is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings in Atlanta.
Expert Prediction Braves 6, Nationals 5