The Atlanta Braves (53-37) and Washington Nationals (30-60) will square off once again Thursday in the 1st of a 4-game set to close out the first half of the season. First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m. ET from Nationals Park. Let’s analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Braves vs. Nationals odds with MLB picks and predictions.
Season series: Braves lead 7-2 after sweeping the Nationals last weekend. Atlanta has outscored Washington 66-37 in the 9 games.
The Braves have been on a hot streak, going 7-3 in their last 10 games. They haven’t lost back-to-back games since June 17-18, going 16-8 since then. They’ve closed the gap on the Mets in the NL East, sitting just 2.5 games behind.
The Nationals are trending in the opposite direction and are tied for the worst record in baseball with the Oakland Athletics. They’ve lost 6 in a row and have won only 1 of their last 13 games.
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Braves at Nationals projected starters
RHP Kyle Wright vs. RHP Anibal Sanchez
Wright (10-4, 2.97 ERA) makes his 18th start. He has a 1.16 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9 and 9.0 K/9 in 103 IP.
- The Braves have won the last 4 starts by Wright, who has allowed 8 runs in 23 1/3 innings during that stretch.
- Last start: Won 4-3 Saturday vs. Nationals with 7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 BB and 5 K.
Sanchez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his 1st start since 2020.
- Sat out the entire 2021 season and has been out this year with a cervical nerve impingement.
- In 2020, he went 4-5 with a 6.62 ERA.
Braves at Nationals odds and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:18 a.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Braves -210 (bet $210 to win $100) | Nationals +170 (bet $100 to win $170)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Braves -1.5 (-130) | Nationals +1.5 (+105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 9.5 (O: +100 | U: -125)
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Braves at Nationals picks and predictions
Prediction
Braves 6, Nationals 3
Money line
The Braves absolutely should win this game against a pitcher who hasn’t taken the mound in nearly 2 years. Sanchez probably won’t pitch very deep into the game, but the Braves are red hot and the Nationals, well, are not.
But I’m not going to bet on the money line at -210. It’s just too juiced unless you’re including it in a parlay. PASS.
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Run line/Against the spread
Even against the spread, the Braves’ line is juiced a bit at -130. You could wait and see if it comes down a little, but even at -130, I like the BRAVES -1.5 (-130) to win and cover.
They’re only 44-46 ATS this season, but it’s way better than the Nationals’ 39-51 mark, which is 2nd-worst in the league.
Over/Under
The UNDER 9.5 (-125) is the obvious play, but once again that line is expensive. The Braves are winning but they’re not knocking the cover off the ball by any means, scoring 4 runs or fewer in each of their last 5 games. They should break that trend Thursday, but the Nationals aren’t going to put up many runs against Wright.
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