It’s never a god idea to make any big predictions after seeing each team play 20 games or less in the new MLB season, but things are a little different this time around. We are looking at a 60-game season, which means that the teams who are off to a slow start, or who need to play catch-up because of postponed games, are already somewhat under the gun. In the NL East, things are certainly not going as we expected, as neither the defending World Series Champions nor the back to back division winners are sitting on top at the moment. Both the Washington Nationals and the Atlanta Braves have had less than stellar starts, but this 3-game series might be an opportunity to kickstart things and start moving in the right direction. Let’s take a look at this series and make some predictions for each game so you can make your bets against their MLB odds.
MLB Betting Predictions for Braves vs Nationals Series – Aug 17-19
Game 1 – Monday at 7:10 PM EST
There is a reason why the Braves are not really scaling the heights that we expected, and it all comes down to injuries. Their pitching woes can be traced back to losing Cole Hamels and Mike Soroka for the season. Still, they are 13-10 and in the hunt for the top spot in the NL East. Back to back wins over the Miami Marlins to end the week certainly helped their cause. The Nationals are at 8-11 and down near the bottom of this division, but they have been better on the road, going 6-3 in their games away from home. Anibal Sanchez (0-3, 9.60 ERA) will start for the Nationals, while Touki Toussaint (7.27 ERA) will start for the Braves. The OVER looks to be the way to go in this one.
Game 2 – Tuesday at 7:10 PM EST
While I went with the OVER in Game 1 of the series, I also think it’s one that the Braves will win. With that in mind, they will be looking to continue rolling in Game 2 on Tuesday, The Braves have been fantastic at home this season, putting together a 7-2 record. Josh Tomlin, who has been pitching relief for the Braves, will get the start in this one, hoping to better a stellar 1.59 ERA. Despite being 3 games below .500 heading into this week, the Nationals are still just 3 games back of first, but they need to start moving soon if they are going to challenge in this short season. They will have Austin Voth (0-2, 3.21 ERA) on the mound for this one. Lower scoring than Game 1, but another win for Atlanta, I believe.
Game 3 – Wednesday at 7 PM EST
The final game in this series goes on Wednesday night and will be shown nationally on ESPN. This one appears to come with a bit of a pitching mismatch that goes in the favor of the Washington Nationals. They will have Erick Fedde on the mound, who is coming off a dominating performance in 5.1 innings in his last start, which came in a 15-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Fedde has an ERA of 2.55 on the season. For the Braves, it will be Kyle Wright (0-3, 7.20 ERA) who will get the start. You gave to like the Nationals in this one, but I still have the Braves inning the series 2-1.
