Washington Nationals vs Atlanta Braves Prediction, 5/23/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Washington Nationals vs Atlanta Braves

Date: Saturday, May 23, 2026

Location: Truist Park in Cumberland, GA

TV: Braves.TV

Odds/Point Spread: Washington (+120) Atlanta (-144)

The Washington Nationals (25-26) are hitting the road to Truist Park on Saturday where they will take on the Atlanta Braves (35-16). The moneyline on this contest has the Nationals at +120 while the Braves are priced at -144. The over/under is set at 9. The starting pitchers will be Jake Irvin and Grant Holmes.

Washington has a slugging rate of .414 and have been called out on strikes 427 times, while being walked on 190 occasions. They have accrued 262 runs batted in and 428 hits this year, and their team batting average is at .244. The Nationals have hit 103 two-baggers as a team and have hit 61 balls out of the park. They have tallied 280 runs while holding a team on-base percentage of .325. As a unit, the Washington Nationals are recording 5.5 runs per game, which has them sitting at 1st in the league.

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The Nationals hold a team ERA of 5.02 on the year (29th in the league), and they have struck out 404 hitters. Nationals pitchers have allowed 76 long balls and 296 runs in total (30th in MLB). Their pitching staff has walked 187 players from the other team and their FIP is 4.92 as a team for the year. Washington has surrendered 465 hits (9.1 per 9 innings) and also 257 earned runs. They have accumulated a K/BB ratio of 2.16 and the pitching staff sits with a WHIP of 1.41.

The Nationals relief pitchers have a save percentage of 53.8% and have come into the game in 55 save situations. They have tallied 14 saves this season and have missed out on 12 of their 26 chances to get a save. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 70 runners for the season with 48.6% of those players ended up scoring. Nationals pitchers have stepped onto the hill with players on base 50 times and also have had 56 appearances in high leverage situations. The Nationals have dispatched 166 relief pitchers to the mound this season. The relievers have 25 holds on the season (20th in the league).

The Nationals have turned 68.8% of balls in play into outs out of 4,149 innings, ranking them 26th in the majors. The Washington Nationals are sitting with 1,383 putouts thus far, in addition to 454 assists and 48 errors. Their fielding percentage is currently at .975 which puts them in 30th in pro baseball, and they have turned 36 double plays.

Irvin has taken the hill for 534 innings and is sitting with 430 punch outs during his pro baseball career. Irvin (23-38 career mark) holds a FIP of 4.94 and he has gone up against 2,298 hitters in the major leagues. His earned run average is 5.02 (298 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.353. He has given up 534 base hits (9.0 hits per 9 innings) and has 189 walks.

Atlanta has recorded 72 HRs this season to go along with 270 RBIs. They have put up 86 doubles, while taking a walk 154 times as well as notching 276 runs. The Atlanta Braves have accumulated an on-base percentage of .329 as well as a batting average of .266 this season. The Braves hold a team SLG% of .445 and they are scoring 5.41 runs per contest (2nd in baseball). They have struck out on 402 occasions (21st in the league) and have tallied 464 base hits.

The Atlanta pitching staff have given up 172 runs this year while having a team ERA of 3.09 (156 earned runs yielded). They have conceded 51 HR's and they surrender 3.41 runs per 9 innings (2nd in MLB). The Braves hold a team WHIP of 1.134 in addition to having a FIP of 3.85 as a team for the year. Their strikeout to walk ratio comes in at 8.90 (451 strikeouts vs 174 free passes). They sit at 3rd in MLB as a staff in total hits surrendered with 341.

Sitting with 50 save situations, the Braves have 29 holds and 4 blown saves. Atlanta has had bullpen pitchers enter the game in 19 save opportunities and they have converted 15 saves. Atlanta relievers hold an inherited score percentage of 27.9% out of 43 inherited base runners. Their relievers have stepped onto the hill 48 times in high leverage situations and on 29 occasions with runners on. They sit at 3rd in the league with a save rate of 78.9%, and they have dispatched 155 relief pitchers to the mound this season.

In their 4,086 innings on the diamond, the Braves have a defensive efficiency of 74.0% (1st in professional baseball). The Atlanta Braves have gotten 35 double plays and have accounted for a fielding rate of .988 (8th in professional baseball). The Braves have accrued 410 assists, 21 errors and have notched a total of 1,362 putouts so far this season.

During his career, Holmes has given up 204 hits while earning 231 strikeouts in 230 innings pitched. Holmes (9-11 mark in his career) holds a 3.83 ERA while allowing 8.0 hits per 9 innings. He has allowed 98 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.281 and having a FIP of 3.8. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.54 and he has faced 975 hitters so far in his MLB career.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Washington (+120)

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