Washington at Atlanta Baseball Prediction & Betting Pick

The Atlanta Braves clearly like their new stadium, SunTrust Park, as they have yet to lose there in the early going. Atlanta welcomes NL East rival Washington for its first visit to the new park on Tuesday. The Nats will be favored in baseball betting behind their ace.

Washington at Atlanta Baseball Prediction & Betting Pick

Two for the Bryce of one pic.twitter.com/AcHa7nRF85

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) April 17, 2017

When: Tuesday, April 18, 7:35 PM ET Where: SunTrust Park, Atlanta Probable pitchers (away/home): Max Scherzer/Mike Foltynewicz TV: MLB Extra Innings Stream: MLB.tv Radio: Washington / Atlanta Opening MLB Lines: Nats favored by TBA

Why Bet On Washington?

The Nationals (7-5) won two of three at home over the weekend vs. Philadelphia. It was 6-4 in the finale on Sunday. Bryce Harper hit a two-run homer in the third inning and a game-ending, three-run drive with two outs in the ninth. It was Harper’;s fourth game-ending homer, his first since May 9, 2015, against Atlanta’s Cody Martin. Harper has hit 18 of his 125 big league homers against the Phillies. The 24-year- old superstar is batting .333/.455/.644 with four home runs and 13 RBI in 12 regular-season games. He’s chasing his second National League MVP Award. Washington has come from behind in six of its seven victories this season. Shortstop Trea Turner tested out his ailing right hamstring with some sprints in the outfield on Sunday. It comes after Turner took batting practice on the field earlier in the weekend. Turner is eligible to return from the disabled list on Wednesday. Second baseman Daniel Murphy, who posted 56 multi-hit games in 2016 (5th in NL), has picked up at least two hits in seven of the Nationals’ games this season, leading MLB in that category. Since the start of the 2016 season, Murphy’s 63 multi-hit games are second-most in the National League. Only Mookie Betts (69), Jose Altuve (67) and DJ LeMahieu (64) have more in that span. Nationals 1B Ryan Zimmerman is off to a strong start to the 2017 season, hitting .341 & slugging .659. The Nationals have more hitters (7) with a .289 batting average or higher than any other team in the Major Leagues. It’s 2016 NL Cy Young winner Max Scherzer (1-1, 2.13) on the mound. Scherzer (1-1) gave up three runs — just one earned — on four hits and two walks while striking out 10 in last Wednesday’s loss to the Cardinals. He also threw three wild pitches and hit a batter. Scherzer isn’t a guy who tends to miss his catcher’s glove, as he threw more wild pitches Wednesday than he did all of last season (two). Scherzer will become the first Nationals pitcher to take the mound at SunTrust Park after going 3-2 with a 2.39 ERA in nine career games (seven starts) at Turner Field. The right-hander is 5-3 with a 3.70 ERA lifetime versus the Braves.

Why Bet On Atlanta?

The Braves entered Monday’s series finale vs. San Diego at 3-0 in their new park. Catcher Tyler Flowers left Sunday’s game with a right hamstring strain and is day-to- day, according to Manager Brian Snitker. Flowers was 2-for- 3 with a double and two RBI before getting replaced by Anthony Recker. OF Matt Kemp (right hamstring tightness) can come off the 10-day DL on Tuesday. OF Nick Markakis went 1-for- 4 Sunday and collected his 1,900th career hit. He has hit safely in each of the last nine games, going 11-for- 33 (.333) in that stretch. The only game he failed to collect a hit was the season opener (0-for- 4). Markakis drove in the first two runs in SunTrust Park’s history with a two-run double Friday in the first inning. Markakis is only five doubles shy of 400 in his career. Only seven active players have collected 400 or more career doubles. The Braves play just seven home games in the month of April. Atlanta plays host to 16 home games in May and 17 in June before a sparse July, with just eight home contests. The Braves will have 17 home games in August and 16 in September. Mike Foltynewicz is on the mound here. He struggled in his April 7 season debut as he battled frigid, snowy conditions in Pittsburgh, and his last turn was skipped because of a couple off-days. So his live arm should be fresh as he makes his first start in nearly two weeks. Foltynewicz has made a concerted effort to do whatever he can to prevent his thoughts and emotions from adversely affecting his tremendous physical talents. But as he exited in the fourth inning of the Pirates game, he showed yet again that he is not yet a polished product. “It’s something he’s going to have to continue to work at, because this kid’s stuff is too good to not be very successful, and he will be,” Snitker said after Foltynewicz allowed two earned runs on six hits and three walks over 3 2/3 innings. Foltynewicz walked away from this start knowing he must be aware of his body language. During Friday’s outing, he once again found it hard to hide his displeasure after not getting a few calls he wanted on borderline pitches.

Washington at Atlanta Baseball Betting Pick: Washington Nationals

I wouldn’t recommend betting against Scherzer very often.