MLB Baseball
2025-09-22 - Washington Nationals at Atlanta Braves
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : MLB Baseball
Monday 22nd August 2025 - Scheduled 7:15pm
12:15am (British Time)
Preview
The Major League Playoff Bracket has featured the Atlanta Braves (73-83) in seven straight seasons and the 2025 expectations would have been for the team to once again challenge for World Series honours. They were World Champions as recently as 2021, but had not won a Playoff Series since then, and the Atlanta Braves were tipped up to be the leading team in the National League East.
Instead it has been an injury hit campaign and one that the Braves organisation will want to flush and look ahead to 2026.
However, all credit has to be given to a group of players who have won eight games in a row and who are playing out the string as hard as possible. There is still a chance they can overhaul the Miami Marlins for third spot in the Division, although the Braves are not involved in any series that are going to have an impact on the final Playoff picture.
They begin this three game series with the Washington Nationals (64-92) looking for a ninth win in a row for the first time in over two years.
The Braves will give the ball to veteran Chris Sale who has a 5-5 record and 2.35 ERA in nineteen starts for Atlanta this season. Injuries have been a factor for Chris Sale in recent years, but he is still looking to avoid his first losing record since 2019 and a solid outing may mean putting a third winning year in a row in the history books.
Chris Sale has pitched well for the Braves and he may yet produce a stronger ERA than in 2024 when he was given eighteen decision wins.
After missing two months of the regular season, Chris Sale has made four starts in a row and has a 0-1 record from those despite a 1.75 ERA. Last week he completed 8 Innings against the Washington Nationals and did not give up a single run, but Sale did not factor into the decision with the game going into Extra Innings before the Braves were able to complete a comfortable win.
The Nationals will counter with MacKenzie Gore who has a 5-14 record and 4.00 ERA in twenty-nine starts for the National League East basement dwellers.
He opposed Chris Sale last week and moved into the Sixth Inning without giving up a run, and MacKenzie Gore now has a 2.84 ERA across his last six starts since allowing eight runs in 3 Innings thrown against the Athletics earlier last month.
MacKenzie Gore has allowed two runs in a little over 10 Innings thrown in September and the Washington Nationals have won two in a row against the New York Mets to dent their rivals' Playoff hopes.
However, it was the Braves who swept a four game set against the Washington Nationals on the road last week and they lead the season series with seven wins compared with Washington's three wins.
Prediction
Both of these teams may have long been eliminated from the post-season, but they are playing hard and Divisional series will always gain extra attention.
The pressure may be on the Washington Nationals to find a way to respond after the four game home sweep to the Atlanta Braves, but they are going to have to find a way to deal with a veteran in Chris Sale who has been in great rhythm on the mound.
MacKenzie Gore was able to duel him effectively last week, but the Nationals are more likely to need to turn to the bullpen a touch earlier and the Atlanta batting lineup has been producing at a high level over the last couple of weeks.
The Pick :
Atlanta Braves 5-2 Washington Nationals
