Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves Preview, Prediction & Odds | September 22, 2025

We have an exciting NL East matchup between teams not going to be making the playoffs as the Washington Nationals are heading to Truist Park on Monday evening to take on the Atlanta Braves for the opening game of a three-game set. The Nationals are coming off a 3-2 road win on Sunday over the New York Mets while the Braves secured a 6-2 road win over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.

Washington is fifth in the NL East with a 64-92 record and has young southpaw MacKenzie Gore getting the start. Atlanta is fourth in the NL East with a 73-83 record and is sending veteran left-hander Chris Sale to toe the slab.

Betting Odds

Team	Spread	Total Runs	Money Line
	+1.5 (-113)	Over 7 (-110)	+200
	-1.5 (-108)	Under 7 (-110)	-250

Apex Tale of The Tape

	Team Stats
4.24	Runs/G	4.48
.243	BA	.245
.305	OBP	.320
.386	SLG	.398
.691	OPS	.718
146	HR	180
129	SB	77
5.32	ERA	4.37
1.44	WHIP	1.31
7.82	K/9	8.86
.984	Fielding Percentage	.990
35	Saves	31

Projected Starting Pitchers H2H

MacKenzie Gore	Player Stats	Chris Sale
5-14	W/L	5-5
4.00	ERA	2.35
157.2	IP	115.0
1.32	WHIP	1.07
182	K	150
60	BB	28

Key Stats

Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals are struggling at the plate this season as they are 25th in the bigs with a .691 team OPS while scoring 4.24 runs per game. Washington has been able to be aggressive on the bases as they are 10th in the majors with 129 steals while being caught 47 times. Shortstop CJ Abrams is hitting at a solid level with a .253/.349/.457 slash line with 27 home runs, 89 RBI, 83 runs scored, and 15 steals on 22 attempts.

Young left-hander MacKenzie Gore is going to be taking the mound for the Washington Nationals for Monday’s game and is holding his own thus far as he is 5-14 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP in 157.2 innings of work. He is doing a good job in terms of keeping the ball in the park as hitters have 19 home runs over the course of the season. Gore faced the Braves once this season and did not factor into the decision as he pitched 5.1 shutout innings as he gave up two hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are doing a middling job at the plate this season as they are 13th in the majors with a .245/.320/.398 team slash line with 4.48 runs per game heading into this game. Despite having power hitters in the lineup, they are 15th in the sport with 180 combined home runs. First baseman Matt Olson has been hitting well as he is posting a .867 OPS with 28 homers, 93 RBI, 95 runs scored, and one steal without being caught.

The Braves are sending veteran southpaw Chris Sale to the hill and dominated this season as in his 19 starts, he is 5-5 with a 2.35 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP in 115.0 innings of work. He has been doing well at limiting the amount of hits as he is pitching to a .224 batting average against up to this point. Sale faced the Nationals once this season as he pitched eight shutout innings and allowed three hits with zero walks and nine strikeouts.

Washington Nationals vs. Atlanta Braves Betting Trends

	Betting Stats
64-92	W/L 10	73-83
74-82	ATS	77-79
78-67-11	O/U	70-76-10

Prediction

The Atlanta Braves are the better overall team and should dominate in this matchup against the Washington Nationals. When diving into the last seven starts for these pitchers, there is a gap as MacKenzie Gore is 1-3 with a 4.67 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP in 34.2 innings while Chris Sale is 2-2 with a 1.33 ERA and a 9:64 walk-to-strikeout ratio in 47.1 innings. Neither bullpen has done well, but there is a gap nonetheless, as Atlanta is 19th with a 4.24 reliever ERA while Washington is 30th with a 5.56 bullpen ERA so far. All in all, go with the Atlanta Braves to cover the run line at home.

Final Pick

Atlanta Braves -1.5 (-125)