Nationals vs. Braves Prediction and Odds for Wednesday, April 13 (Fried Never Fails)
By Matt De Saro
The Washington Nationals started the year with an impressive 11-2 win over the Atlanta Braves last week but were unable to build off of that victory.
After beating the Mets in Game 1 in their four-game tilt, the Nats dropped the last three games of the series against New York. Washington was outscored 17-4 in the final three games of the series and have fallen into an early rut.
The struggles continued on Tuesday, with the Braves scoring 16 on the Nationals in a 16-4 blowout.
Max Friend gets the start for the reigning champs while Josiah Gray makes his second start of the year for the Nationals.
Here are the odds for this game, courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook.
Nationals vs. Braves Odds, Run Line, and Total
Run Line
- Nationals: +1.5 (-110)
- Braves: -1.5 (-110)
Moneyline:
- Nationals: +177
- Braves: -195
Total:
- 9 (Over -105/Under -115)
Nationals vs. Braves Prediction and Pick
Both of the starters for this game look to bounce back from disastrous debuts.
Gray got lit up by the Mets on Friday, giving up four runs off eight hits in four innings. He did strike out five but finished with an ERA of 9.00. This is not a great sign for a guy who ended last season with a 5.31 ERA and 1.34 WHIP. Gray now has a career ERA of 5.67 and I just don’t have it in me to trust a guy with that kind of track record.
Fried had a similarly poor outing in his season debut after giving up five earned runs in 5 ⅔ innings. However, I am far less concerned about Fried heading into this matchup. Fried has a career ERA of 3.40 and had a very strong 2021 campaign.
While the Braves' pitching isn’t concerning to me, their issues at the plate are. Atlanta is currently hitting .201 on the year and has scored more than three runs just once this year so far. Despite this, I am going to have faith that their bats wake up against Gray and cover the run line on Wednesday.
Pick: Braves -1.5 (-100)
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