The Washington Nationals host the Atlanta Braves on September 16, 2025. First pitch from Nationals Park is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. EDT; the game will be broadcast on MLB Network.
Find my MLB betting preview and Braves vs Nationals prediction below, as well as probable pitchers, betting trends, injury reports and more.
My Braves vs Nationals Prediction
- Braves vs Nationals pick: Braves ML
My Braves vs Nationals best bet is on the Braves to win outright. Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live MLB odds page.
Braves vs Nationals Odds
| Braves Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +110 | 9 -115o / -105u | -145 |
| Nationals Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -135 | 9 -115o / -105u | +120 |
Braves vs Nationals Projected Starting Pitchers
| TBD (ATL) | Stat | RHP Jake Irvin (WAS) |
|---|---|---|
| — | W-L | 8-12 |
| — | fWAR (FanGraphs) | -0.3 |
| — | ERA /xERA | 5.70/5.65 |
| — | FIP / xFIP | 5.62/4.91 |
| — | WHIP | 1.43 |
| — | K-BB% | 1.9 |
| — | GB% | 43.4 |
| — | Stuff+ | 94 |
| — | Location+ | 104 |
Sean Paul’s Braves vs Nationals Preview
Washington Nationals Betting Preview: Irvin Struggles, Offense Falters
The Nationals' rotation has been a sore spot all year and Jake Irvin is one of the reasons why their staff has the second-worst ERA in baseball.
Irvin isn’t particularly good at anything. His ERA is 5.70 with a 5.65 xERA and 5.62 FIP — so you can’t reflect on Irvin’s year and say he was unlucky. Not only does Irvin not strike batters out — posting a 5.98 K/9, he also walks 3.15 batters per nine. Irvin also allows a disastrous 1.87 HR/9 and sits in the 7th percentile in hard-hit rate and 5th in barrel rate.
Washington lost seven of Irvin's last eight starts and allowed 3+ runs in each outing. He's a shoo-in to give up at least a few runs, which puts the Nationals' offense behind the eight ball.
And for the Nationals' offense, they need all the help they can get. Their approach is a total trainwreck — walking just 6.8% of the time in their last 20 games and striking out 26.1% of the time. That puts them in the bottom six in both categories. To boot, the Nationals also have 18 homers in that span — which is sixth lowest in MLB.
Daylen Lile, James Wood, and Josh Bell each have a wRC+ better than 120 in their last three weeks. But nobody else on the Nationals roster is above a 90 wRC+. If that trio can't initiate the offense, then they probably won't score much.
Atlanta Braves Betting Preview: Looking for a Spark
The Braves haven't announced a game one starter yet. With Chris Sale set to pitch game two, maybe Atlanta rolls with a bullpen game since the pen can rest for most of Sale's outing. The other option is Nathan Wiles, who joined the big league club three different times this year, but pitched just one inning in relief. If he were to stay in the minors, it would be his turn to pitch. But the Braves should use their extra roster spot for the doubleheader on him either way.
Wiles has a 3.04 ERA in 112 2/3 innings at AAA Gwinnett, while posting a 1.24 WHIP. I'm not very excited about a potential Wiles outing, but it's tough to put up worse numbers than Irvin, and if there's an offense that Wiles can beat, it's the Nationals.
I crushed the Nationals' offense earlier, so it's only fair to treat the Braves' offense the same. Atlanta is the 25th-best offense in MLB according to wRC+ over its last 20 games. However, the Braves have the edge over the Nationals in the power department, ranking 12th with 23 home runs.
And from a pure talent standpoint, it's not much of a debate which offense is better. Ronald Acuna Jr hasn't hit for a while, but he's shown flashes of his former MVP self at times.
The Braves have three hitters with a wRC+ above 125 over the past three weeks: Matt Olson leads the team with 192, while Ozzie Albies and Jurickson Profar have performed well. They'll need more from both Acuna and ROY candidate Drake Baldwin to finish the season strongly.
Braves vs Nationals Prediction, Betting Analysis
None of the potential Braves pitching plans excites me, but I'll gladly fade Irvin. He's been an easy fade for two months, and I don't see a reason to change it now.
The Braves' offense is also much better than their numbers. Their talent is well ahead of what the numbers say, so I imagine they could feast on a bad pitcher, like Irvin.
Pick: Braves ML (-145, BetMGM: play to -130)
Moneyline
I like the Braves due to who Washington's rolling out.
Run Line (Spread)
No play here.
Over/Under
No play here.
Braves vs Nationals Betting Trends
