The Washington Nationals and the Atlanta Braves meet Sunday in MLB action from SunTrust Park. This will be the last game of the regular season. The Nationals powered out a four-run win in the Friday opener, then in game two the Braves evened it up with a two-run victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.

Washington Nationals 

The Nationals overcame an early 2-0 deficit in the Friday opener of this series, then later overcame a 6-4 deficit in a 10-6 win. Five different players recorded homers among 10 team hits in that one. On Saturday Washington had all of their runs in the first inning in a 5-3 defeat. Keibert Ruiz, Joey Meneses and Luis Garcia each provided an RBI. 

In the starting pitcher role for Sunday’s game the Nationals will go with Jackson Rutledge. In three starts this year Rutledge is 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA and eight strikeouts over 15.0 innings. 

Washington Nationals Team Facts

The Nationals have lost seven of their last eight road games after playing the previous day.
The Nationals have failed to cover the run line in eight of their last nine games as underdogs after playing the previous day.
The Nationals have led after 7 innings in each of their last five Sunday day games against the Braves.
The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Nationals’ last six games at Truist Park.
The Nationals have led after 3 innings in three of their last four games as underdogs against National League opponents.

Atlanta Braves 

Over on the Braves’ side, they posted 17 team hits in the Friday matchup but couldn’t overcome a few bad innings defensively. On Saturday Atlanta posted four runs in the fifth inning on the way to the comeback win. Marcell Ozuna logged a three-run homer and Ronald Acuna posted two hits with two runs. 

It’ll be Dylan Dodd in the Sunday start for the Braves. This year Dodd is 2-2 with a 7.62 ERA and 14 strikeouts. 

Atlanta Braves Team Facts

The Braves have lost four of their last five games as favorites against NL East opponents following a win.
The Braves have failed to cover the run line in 17 of their last 19 games as home favorites against the Nationals following a home win.
The Braves have led after 3 innings in each of their last five day games against the Nationals at Truist Park.
The Braves have led after 5 innings in each of their last five day games against the Nationals at Truist Park.
The Braves have trailed after 7 innings in four of their last six games as home favorites against National League opponents.

Matchup/League Facts

The Atlanta Braves rank 1st in the league for runs scored this season (938).
The Atlanta Braves rank 1st in the league for hits this season (1532).
The Washington Nationals rank 30th in the league for home runs allowed this season (243).
The Washington Nationals rank 29th in the league for home runs this season (151).

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I might try the Nationals in this one. Rutledge had a very bad game on September 13 versus Pittsburgh with 3.2 innings and seven earned runs in a loss. In the two starts since then however, Rutledge has gone 1-0 with just three earned in 11.1 innings. Heading into a rest week prior to the playoffs, the Braves probably won’t have their foot on the proverbial gas pedal, which is good news for Washington. On Saturday the Nationals faded out at the plate after a promising early start. Washington has been pretty inconsistent when it comes to scoring lately, so I’m probably staying away.