Atlanta Braves vs Washington Nationals Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 04/23/26

The Braves and Nationals are set to wrap-up a 4-game mid-week series on Thursday afternoon in Washington, D.C. Atlanta has taken 2 of the first 3 games on by scores of 9-4 on Monday and 8-6 on Wednesday with an 11-4 Washington win sandwiched in-between on Tuesday. All 3 games have gone over the total, and with a total of 9 in the series finale, I see that trend continuing. Atlanta is slated to send JR Ritchie to the mound, and he will be making his MLB debut. The Nationals aren’t the most daunting lineup out there, but some debut nerves can be expected from Ritchie. Washington should be able to take advantage.

On the other side, Cade Cavalli will toe the rubber for the Nationals. His numbers so far this season aren’t bad, as he’s allowed 2 runs or fewer in 4 of his 5 starts. However, longevity has been an issue, as he’s thrown more than 5.0 innings just once. Washington’s bullpen ranks 26th in baseball with a 5.37 ERA, and they are already depleted after working a lot of innings in a trio of high-scoring games in this series. That means Cavalli may be asked to eat up some innings even if he is not looking sharp. All in all, both offenses seem to have the edge in this one. Look to the over.

Braves vs Nationals prediction: Over 9 (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.