MLB Baseball

2026-05-24 - Washington Nationals at Atlanta Braves

A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown

Washington Nationals @ Atlanta Braves
United States : Major League Baseball
Sunday 24th May 2026 - Scheduled 4:10pm EST
9:10pm (British Time)

Preview

The first two games of this series between National League East Divisional rivals have been split, but the Atlanta Braves (36-17) continue to hold an almost double digit lead over their nearest challengers. Another loss to the Washington Nationals (26-27) could make the road team the closest team to the Braves at the end of the weekend, but Atlanta will be confident in bouncing back from the loss on Saturday.

With that in mind they will turn the ball over to Martin Perez who has a 2-2 record and 2.85 ERA from ten appearances in 2026 and six of those have been in starts. The veteran is in his first season in the Atlanta uniform and Perez is hoping to prove he can be a serious part of what has been an impressive starting rotation through the first couple of months of the Major League season.

The record in 2025 looks bad on paper at 1-6, but Martin Perez was doing well enough on the mound as a member of the Chicago White Sox. His 3.54 ERA is one that a contender would look at as being a decent part of any starting rotation and Perez has opened 2026 in stronger form.

He had only allowed four runs across four starts before being asked to come out of the bullpen for a couple of appearances this month and that has perhaps tampered with the rhythm. It could be the excuse Martin Perez can make for giving up four runs in 5 Innings across his last start, but the overall numbers in 2026 will give him encouragement as he prepares for a rare outing against the Washington Nationals.

Between 2020 and 2022, Foster Griffin struggled to have any impact in the Major League and it was perhaps no surprise that he chose to head over to Japan. The Washington Nationals brought him back in 2026 after three seasons away from the United States and the experiences have clearly been good for the starting pitcher.

Foster Griffin has a 5-2 record and 4.02 ERA in ten starts for the Washington Nationals in 2026 having only played Major League Baseball as a reliever in his time with the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals.

In saying that, this will be a learning curve at this level and Foster Griffin has found that out in his last couple of starts.

He has allowed fourteen runs in a little over 9 Innings thrown across two starts, but Foster Griffin can be thankful to the Washington batting lineup for giving him a 1-1 record in that time. The bats have been crucial for the Nationals through the first couple of months of the season and does ease some pressure on any starting pitcher, even if getting out to a rough start/outing.

In six of the ten starts made this season, Foster Griffin has not been tagged for more than two runs.

This is going to be the seventh meeting between these National League East rivals in 2026 and it is the Braves who lead 4-2.

Prediction

Both starting pitchers will have something to prove on Sunday, especially as they are going up against a couple of batting lineups that can be very dangerous.

The edge here has to be with Martin Perez and the Atlanta Braves having shown a bit more consistency in recent outings, although he is looking to bounce back from an under-par showing.

However, Foster Griffin has hit an early wall and that could play out on Sunday in the latest Divisional game between these teams.