Atlanta Braves vs Washington Nationals Prediction, 7/16/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Atlanta Braves vs Washington Nationals

Date: Saturday, July 16, 2022

Location: Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

TV: MASN

Odds/Point Spread: Atlanta (-205) Washington (+175)

The Atlanta Braves (54-37) are on their way to Nationals Park on Saturday where they will compete against the Washington Nationals (30-61). The moneyline on this contest has the Braves at -205 while the Nationals open at +175. The total is 9. The pitchers who are expected to start will be Max Fried and Paolo Espino.

Atlanta has a slugging rate of .444 and have struck out 849 times, while drawing a walk on 266 occasions. They have accounted for 410 runs batted in and 769 hits so far this season, and their batting average sits at .248. The Braves have recorded 167 doubles as a unit and have hit 142 baseballs out of the park. They have 429 runs while holding a team OBP of .313. As a unit, the Atlanta Braves are putting up 4.7 runs per game, which ranks them 5th in baseball.

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The Braves have compiled a team ERA of 3.58 so far this season (6th in baseball), and their staff has struck out 876 batters. They have walked 299 opposing hitters and their FIP comes in at 3.44 as a squad so far this year. They have a K/BB ratio of 2.93 and the pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.23. Braves pitchers have relinquished 78 home runs and also 360 runs in total (7th in baseball).

Braves relief pitchers have entered the game with players on base 81 times and also have had 107 appearances in high leverage situations. The bullpen have racked up 58 holds for the year (5th in the league). The Braves relievers have recorded a save percentage of 64.0% and has come into the game in 110 save situations. They have earned 32 saves over the course of the season and have not converted 18 of their 50 chances to get a save. The relief pitchers have inherited 120 runners on the season and 36.7% of those players crossed the plate. The Braves have sent 288 relief pitchers to the hill this year.

The Atlanta Braves have earned 2,455 putouts over the course of the season, as well as 793 assists and 38 errors. Their fielding rate sits at .988 which has them sitting 4th in pro baseball, and have a total of 67 double plays. The Braves have turned 69.4% of balls in play into outs out of their 7,365 innings on the diamond, which has them sitting at 20th in professional baseball.

Fried has thrown 559 innings and has earned 552 K's during his pro baseball career. His ERA is 3.19 (198 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.198. He has given up 509 base knocks (8.2 hits per 9 innings) with 161 walks. Fried (49-21 mark in his career) has a FIP of 3.36 while he has gone up against 2,306 opposing batters during his time in the major leagues.

The Washington Nationals have an OBP of .317 as well as a batting average of .249 over the course of the season. They have struck out on 650 instances (29th in the league) and have earned a total of 760 base hits. Washington has a total of 72 home runs on the campaign as well as 335 RBIs. The Nationals hold a team slugging % of .376 and they average 3.85 runs per contest (27th in baseball). They have hit 152 doubles, while taking a walk 284 times as well as scoring 350 runs.

The Nationals have a WHIP of 1.465 with a FIP of 4.89 as a squad so far this season. They currently have a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.12 (709 strikeouts vs 334 walks). They come in at 29th in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits surrendered with 838. They have given up 133 HR's and they yield 5.58 runs per 9 innings (30th in baseball). The Washington pitching staff have surrendered 496 runs so far this season while holding a team ERA of 5.13 (456 earned runs allowed).

Washington has called on relievers to step onto the hill in 24 save opportunities and they have converted 15 saves. They rank 17th in the league with a save percentage of 62.5%, and they have sent 331 bullpen pitchers onto the field on the campaign. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill 68 times in high leverage situations and also on 89 occasions with runners on base. Washington bullpen pitchers have an inherited score rate of 31.0% out of 145 inherited runners. Sitting with 57 save situations, the Nationals have compiled 33 holds and also 9 blown saves.

In their 7,200 innings on the field, the Nationals are sitting with a defensive efficiency of 68.2% (27th in baseball). The Washington Nationals have gotten 66 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .983 (23rd in pro baseball). The Nationals have racked up 810 assists, 57 errors and have a tally of 2,400 putouts during this campaign.

So far in his MLB career, Espino has given up 192 hits while earning 160 K's in 192 innings pitched. He has surrendered 91 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.253 and having a FIP of 4.7. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.27 and he has faced 809 hitters during his career. Espino (5-7 career mark) has earned a 4.26 earned run average and has given up 9.0 hits per nine innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Atlanta (-205)

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