Thursday Night Baseball: Washington Nationals Vs. Atlanta Braves

Pitching Matchup

Max Scherzer (9-5 1.79 ERA) vs. Manny Banuelos (0-0 No Games Pitched)

Max Scherzer: A National League CY Young Candidate for the Washington Nationals will face the Braves for the seventh time in his career (5^th start). Scherzer has surprisingly struggled against the Braves in his career, mustering only 1 win and an ERA of 4.13 over 24 innings pitched. Even though the Braves and Nationals are facing-off for the twelfth time this season, Scherzer has yet to face the Braves as a member of the Nationals.

Manny Banuelos: The once highly touted prospect is expected to make his Major League debut on Thursday. After toiling in the New York Yankees minor league system (and undergoing a Tommy John Surgery along the way), before being traded to Atlanta in the offseaon, the once highly rank prospect will finally make his Major League debut. While he has not lived up to his lofty expectations yet, he still has the tools to be a starting pitcher in the MLB. Still the Braves' pitcher is in for quite the challenge tonight against the Nationals. Atlanta is 2-9 against the Nationals this season, being outscored 71 to 43 in the process.

Washington Nationals heating up!

The Nationals were World Series favourites at the start of April, but inconsistency and injury had kept them underperforming for the first two and a half months of the season. The Nationals have finally turned the corner and are now performing like the elite team baseball pundits predicted them to be. With Bryce Harper finally living up to (and maybe exceeding) the hype and being a NL MVP candidate as well as a dominating pitching staff, especially over the past two weeks, the Nationals are a smart pick to continue their success against the Braves tonight

Atlanta Braves are what we thought they were...

The Atlanta Braves are not surprising to anyone this season (save some diehard fans). With a young and strong pitching staff and lackluster offence, the Braves are currently cemented in the realm of mediocre. The team has some bright spots, especially starting pitcher Shelby Miller and Canadian star Freddie Freeman, but the team lacks the depth and experience to be a real contender in the National League.

Best Bets

With the Nationals favoured to win, and rightfully so, they are the best pick of the night. With an over/under hovering at 6.5, look for the over as the Nationals will likely beat up on the rookie pitcher for the Braves and make up for a lackluster performance the previous night. 

Category : Betting Picks

Tag : atlanta braves , baseball , betting , mlb , mlb betting , washington nationals

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