Washington Nationals vs Atlanta Braves Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 05/24/26

The Braves are coming off a forgettable performance on Saturday, as they were held scoreless on just 1 hit at home against the Nationals. Jake Irvin did most of the damage, striking out 7 while failing to allow a hit through 5 innings, and Brad Lord and Richard Lovelady finished the job with 4 strikeouts through the final 4 innings. Atlanta’s Grant Holmes was very good in his own right, striking out 10 while allowing 6 hits and 2 earned runs, but he failed to get any run support and picked up his first loss in over a month as a result. Saturday’s Nats win snapped a 4-game win streak for Atlanta, while it ended a short 2-game losing streak for Washington.

Sunday’s pitching matchup pits a pair of lefties in Washington’s Foster Griffin and Atlanta’s Martin Perez. It’s been a tough run for Griffin, as he’s allowed 14 earned runs on 15 hits across his last 9.1 innings against the Mets and Reds. Meanwhile, Perez has surrendered 6 earned runs on 10 hits in his last 10.2 innings in the starter role, though he did tally 10 strikeouts in 5 innings against the Mariners on Tuesday. 

Given the pitching matchup, I like the over in a vacuum. Washington and Atlanta represent 2 of the best offensive teams in the league, and the same applies against left-handed pitchers. In fact, Washington and Atlanta are both top 5 in batting average and slugging percentage against lefties. Unfortunately, this game won’t be played in a vacuum and will likely be affected by weather, as there are scattered thunderstorms forecasted in the Atlanta area from 2:00 PM ET through the rest of the day – so I’m unsure they’ll get this game in. Slight lean to the over.

Nationals vs Braves prediction: Over 8.5 (-105) at the time of publishing. Playable at that number or better. 

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