This is a 9* on OVER

The Braves are looking to complete a three-game sweep this afternoon in the Nation’s Capital. This series is obviously going a lot better than the weekend did vs. Toronto where they lost three times. Unfortunately, it’s tough to be confident in Drew Smyly to get the job done. Smyly, who gets the nod Thursday for Atlanta, has an 0-4 team start record to go along with an 8.05 ERA. A 1.526 WHIP isn’t good either and these numbers are only getting worse with Smyly allowing five or more runs in each of his last three starts. It’s certainly fair to say that the southpaw is a major reason why Atlanta is one of six teams to be allowing at least 5.0 runs/game this year. While Washington hasn’t been putting a ton of runs on the board lately, they are hitting .263 the last seven games. They were 0 for 6 with RISP and left seven men on base yesterday. Jon Lester gets his second start for the Nationals after being a part of the team’s COVID-19 outbreak at the start of the season. He didn’t give up any runs his first time out, but also only had one strikeout in five innings. Look for him to struggle some here. Smyly has allowed eight home runs in the last three starts. Play on OVER

AAA