If their Opening Day matchup is of any indication of this game, then baseball fans are in for one hell of a treat. The Washington Nationals opened the season with a 4-3 10-inning victory over the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta actually led 3-2 heading into the ninth inning, but surrendered a run at the top of the ninth to tie the game up. Now it’ll be up to Bud Norris to help the Braves avoid a two-game interleague sweep.
Line: Washington Nationals (-200) at Atlanta Braves (+170); total 7.5 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Washington Nationals (1-0)
The Washington Nationals have to be happy after Opening Day. Their MVP Bryce Harper homered in his first at-bat; their main offseason acquisition Daniel Murphy drove in the winning run in the 10th inning; and ace Max Scherzer had a spending outing, allowing just two earned runs as he struck out seven in seven innings.
Stephen Strasburg gets the start Thursday night as he looks to build on his late 2015 form. He was excellent last year with 1.11 WHIP and 10.96 strikeouts per nine innings. Injuries hampered him, limiting him to 23 starts and just 127.1 innings. But he returned better than ever going 6-2 with a 1.90 ERA in his last 10 starts.
Strasburg has won his last three starts against Atlanta, while compiling 18 scoreless innings. But he’s still just 6-7 with a 3.77 ERA in 19 career starts against them. He could be up for a good outing if he carries over his excellent end to last year.
If Strasburg struggles again, then he may be able to rely on the rest of the Nats to give him some run support. It won’t just be Harper and Murphy racking up the score. Ryan Zimmerman could have a big day, considering he’s 5 for 14 with three homers lifetime against Atlanta starter Bud Norris.
The Nats have won four of Strasburg’s last five starts on the road.
Betting on the Atlanta Braves (0-1)
Adonis Garcia and Freddie Freeman both homered on Monday, but the Atlanta Braves couldn’t eke out a win over visiting Washington. Of the two, Freeman may be due for an encore. He has hit 12 of 28 with three homers and two doubles in his career against Washington’s Stephen Strasburg. Garcia has also been solid against Washington’s starter. He’s 2 for 3 lifetime against Strasburg.
While the Braves may have a solid outing at the plate, they’ll need some solid pitching from Bud Norris to truly dominate this matchup. Starter Bud Norris doesn’t give them plenty of confidence after going 3-11 last season with Baltimore and San Diego. He also finished with a career-worst 6.72 ERA in 11 starts and 27 relief appearances.
Norris is up to no good heading into his first start of the season. He finished spring training 1-3 with a 6.46 ERA in six starts. He may continue to struggle, since he has a 5.33 ERA in seven career starts against Washington. But at his best, he can be a pretty good pitcher. He went 15-8 with a 3.65 ERA in 28 starts in 2014 with Baltimore.
The Braves have won three of their last four games at home.
Writer’s Prediction
The Nats (-200) continue their hot start with a blowout win against Atlanta.
