Atlanta Braves (35-25, second in the NL East) vs. Washington Nationals (27-35, fourth in the NL East)
Washington; Friday, 6:45 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Braves: Chris Sale (8-1, 3.06 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 82 strikeouts); Nationals: Jake Irvin (3-5, 3.39 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 60 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Braves -207, Nationals +171; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals will try to end their four-game slide when they play the Atlanta Braves.
Washington has a 27-35 record overall and a 10-17 record in home games. The Nationals are 12-25 in games when they have allowed a home run.
Atlanta is 35-25 overall and 16-13 on the road. The Braves are 26-3 in games when they out-hit their opponents.
Friday's game is the sixth time these teams meet this season. The Nationals are up 3-2 in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: C.J. Abrams leads Washington with 10 home runs while slugging .456. Lane Thomas is 9-for-39 with two home runs and six RBI over the last 10 games.
Marcell Ozuna leads the Braves with a .312 batting average, and has 12 doubles, 18 home runs, 28 walks and 55 RBI. Jarred Kelenic is 10-for-31 with three RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 3-7, .234 batting average, 4.45 ERA, outscored by 14 runs
Braves: 5-5, .213 batting average, 4.55 ERA, outscored by eight runs
INJURIES: Nationals: Trevor Williams: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Josiah Gray: 15-Day IL (elbow), Cade Cavalli: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jose Ferrer: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Mason Thompson: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Braves: Jarred Kelenic: day-to-day (wrist), Tyler Matzek: 60-Day IL (elbow), Alex Jordan Minter: 15-Day IL (hip), Ronald Acuna Jr.: 10-Day IL (knee), AJ Smith-Shawver: 15-Day IL (oblique), Angel Perdomo: 60-Day IL (elbow), Spencer Strider: 15-Day IL (right elbow strain)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
