The Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals open their season’s with a Thursday matchup at Nationals Park. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Braves vs. Nationals odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: First of 13 meetings in 2023; Braves won 2022 season series 14-5 and outscored the Nationals by 49 runs in the 19 games.
The Braves were 101-61 last year, winning the NL East. Their season came to an end in the NL Divisional Series, where they lost 3-1 to the eventual NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies.
Washington finished 2022 with a MLB-worst 55-107 record, their worst mark since 1976 when they were still the Montreal Expos.
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Braves at Nationals projected starters
LHP Max Fried vs. LHP Patrick Corbin
Fried went 14-7 with a 2.48 ERA last year. He had a 1.014 WHIP, 1.55 BB/9 and 8.26 K/9 in 185.1 IP.
- Went 2-2 in his 4 starts in March/April games last year, posting a 3.00 ERA through 24 IP
- In away games last year he was 6-3 in his 12 starts with a 2.55 ERA and 0.876 WHIP
Corbin went 6-19 with a 6.31 ERA last year. He had a 1.697 WHIP, 2.89 BB/9 and 7.55 K/9 in 152.2 IP.
- Went 0-4 in his 5 March/April starts last season, clocking a 8.69 ERA in 19.2 IP
- In home games last year he was 4-8 in his 16 starts, with a 5.17 ERA and 1.523 WHIP
Braves at Nationals odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 10:12 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Braves -250 (bet $250 to win $100) | Nationals +210 (bet $100 to win $210)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Braves -2.5 (+105) | Nationals +2.5 (-125)
- Over/Under (O/U): 7.5 (O: -114 | U: -106)
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Braves at Nationals picks and predictions
Prediction
Braves 6, Nationals 3
Moneyline
AVOID.
The Braves (-250) should be able to pick up a win against the worst team in baseball last year. The line here is not as lopsided as I thought it might be but it is still too risky for this bet, the risk here is not worth the reward.
Run line/Against the spread
LEAN BRAVES -2.5 (+105).
The Braves won 7 of the last 10 meetings and 5 of those 7 wins came by 2 or more runs, making this a fairly safe bet when the line was -1.5. But 2.5 is something diifferent. Still, the Braves big bats should be able to take advantage of a poor Washington bullpen that underperformed in spring training, but go lightly.
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Over/Under
BET OVER 7.5 (-114).
The Over is the safest bet for this game as 6 of the last 10 meetings between these teams went Over 7.5 total runs, and the Over is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings. The Over is also 9-3 in the last 12 meetings in Washington.
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