Washington Nationals (25-26, third in the NL East) vs. Atlanta Braves (35-16, first in the NL East)
Atlanta; Friday, 7:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Nationals: Miles Mikolas (1-3, 6.91 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 28 strikeouts); Braves: Bryce Elder (4-2, 2.01 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 56 strikeouts)
LINE: Braves -217, Nationals +179; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Atlanta Braves host the Washington Nationals on Friday to begin a three-game series.
Atlanta has gone 16-8 in home games and 35-16 overall. The Braves have gone 29-7 in games when they record at least eight hits.
Washington has a 15-10 record in road games and a 25-26 record overall. Nationals hitters have a collective .414 slugging percentage to rank fourth in MLB.
The teams meet Friday for the fifth time this season. The Braves lead the season series 3-1.
TOP PERFORMERS: Matt Olson has 16 doubles and 14 home runs for the Braves. Mike Yastrzemski is 9 for 22 with three doubles, three home runs and eight RBIs over the past 10 games.
C.J. Abrams has 11 doubles, a triple and 10 home runs for the Nationals. Daylen Lile is 14 for 43 with three doubles and four home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Braves: 7-3, .245 batting average, 3.00 ERA, outscored opponents by 17 runs
Nationals: 6-4, .254 batting average, 5.61 ERA, outscored by three runs
INJURIES: Braves: Ronald Acuna Jr.: day-to-day (thumb), Hurston Waldrep: 60-Day IL (elbow), Sean Murphy: 10-Day IL (finger), Drake Baldwin: 10-Day IL (oblique), Kyle Farmer: 10-Day IL (forearm), AJ Smith-Shawver: 60-Day IL (elbow), Danny Young: 60-Day IL (elbow), Spencer Schwellenbach: 60-Day IL (elbow), Joe Jimenez: 60-Day IL (knee), Joey Wentz: 60-Day IL (knee)
Nationals: Cole Henry: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Max Kranick: 15-Day IL (elbow), Trevor Williams: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ken Waldichuk: 60-Day IL (forearm), Josiah Gray: 60-Day IL (elbow), DJ Herz: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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