The 2022 MLB season continues Saturday, July 9, 2022, with the NL East showdown at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia, so we have prepared the best Nationals vs. Braves betting pick along with the latest odds update on Bookmaker Sportsbook. 

Washington and Atlanta continue their three-game series with the first pitch at 4:10 PM ET, and the Braves are listed as heavy favorites. They’ve defeated the Nationals in four of their first six encounters in 2022, while the opener of this set has been excluded from the analysis. 

The Nats lost two straight series                                       

The Washington Nationals carried a 30-55 record into Friday’s clash at Truist Park. They suffered a 5-3 defeat at the Philadelphia Phillies last Thursday and dropped their second straight series. The Nationals have won only one of their previous eight games overall. 

Washington’s pitching staff continues to struggle. In the last seven days and 54 innings pitched, the Nats have compiled a 5.17 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and .244 opposing batting average. Patrick Corbin will get the ball Friday at Truist Park, and the 32-year-old left-hander is 4-10 with a pedestrian 5.68 ERA and 1.67 WHIP in 17 starts (88.2 innings) in 2022. 

Corbin has been a disaster through the first three months of the season. But in his previous two starts, the former second-round pick has allowed only a couple of runs on 13 hits while punching out 16 across 15 frames of work. 

The Braves aim for their fourth straight series W             

The Atlanta Braves suffered a 3-2 11-inning loss to St. Louis this past Thursday and failed to sweep a four-game home series against the Cardinals. The reigning champs stopped their three-game winning streak, recording the third defeat in their last ten outings. 

The Braves’ pitching staff has done an excellent job in the past seven days and 55 innings of work, compiling a shiny 1.47 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and .204 batting average against. Atlanta’s bullpen holds a 2.74 ERA in July while striking out 10.6 per nine innings. 

Kyle Wright will take the hill Friday, and the 26-year-old righty is 9-4 with a strong 2.91 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 98/31 K/BB ratio in 16 starts (96 innings) this season. Wright struggled a bit in June, but he’s allowed just a couple of runs in his last two starts and ten innings of work. 

Trends:

Washington: 

  • 1-7 in the last eight games overall 
  • 4-13 in Patrick Corbin’s 17 starts in 2022  

Atlanta:

  • 7-3 in the last ten games overall 
  • 6-3 in the last nine games at home 
  • 6-1 in Kyle Wright’s last seven starts 

Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves Pick 

I’m not going to overthink this matchup because Patrick Corbin will have to slow down following a couple of strong outings. The current Braves have 57 hits, 14 doubles, six home runs, and .920 OPS in 188 at-bats against Corbin, who met Atlanta in April and yielded six earned runs on nine hits and three walks through just 2.2 innings pitched. 

Atlanta is hitting .248/.312/.434 with 19 homers in the last two weeks and 447 at-bats. On the other side, Washington is slashing just .238/.318/.360 across 425 at-bats in that span, and the Nats’ current lineup has six hits and .700 OPS in 18 at-bats versus Kyle Wright. 

Pick: Take Atlanta Braves -1.5 at -115                                           

The Total:

The Nationals’ bullpen is one of the worst in baseball and holds a troublesome 4.73 ERA in July. If the Braves continue to hit Patrick Corbin hard and get into Washington’s bullpen early, they will score a ton of runs on their own. 

On the other hand, Kyle Wright and his relievers should dominate the Nationals. I still lean toward the over, but the hosts would be my best Nationals vs. Braves pick. 

Pick: Go over 8.5 runs at -125