Washington will try to be nasty hosts on Friday when the Atlanta Braves pay a visit to Nationals Park.

It's a pitching duel between Stephen Strasburg for the Nationals (10-4 on the year) and Tommy Hanson for Atlanta (10-5 so far).



View Atlanta vs Washington Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Baseball odds makers opened the Nationals as -155 moneyline favorites in this matchup. Over under bettors saw the number open at 7.

Power Rankings:
This game puts the Nationals, most recently No. 1 in the National League Odds Shark MLB Power Rankings, up against the Braves, who rate a National League No. 5 in the latest survey.



How They Match Up:
Scoring stats point to some edges in this matchup. The game features Washington's National League No. 9-ranked scoring average of 4.2 runs per game, against a Braves offense rated No. 3 and scoring 4.6 runs per game in the league. The Nationals have averaged 8.7 hits per game to date this season, almost the same as the Braves hitters have managed (8.7 per nine innings).

Comparing defensive stats, Atlanta owns the National League's No. 4-rated road mark, allowing 3.7 runs per game on the highway. Washington, on the other hand, rates No. 10 in scoring at home.

In their last action, Atlanta was a 3-2 Sportsbook at home against the Giants. Bettors on Atlanta at -113 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (5) sent UNDER bettors home happy as well. The Braves enjoyed a 3-2 victory at the expense of the Giants on Thursday, with Tim Hudson throwing 7 1/3 innings of 8-hit ball at Turner Field.

Last time out for Washington, they were a 9-5 loser as they battled the Mets at home. Moneyline bettors who got the Mets at +125 were rewarded, while the 14 combined runs moved the game OVER for totals bettors. The Nationals were saddled with a loss last time out in Gio Gonzalez's start, as they lost 9-5 against New York on Thursday at Nationals Park.


Atlanta Braves Trends:
When playing on Friday are 6-4
Before playing Washington are 3-7
After playing San Francisco are 6-4
After a win are 6-4

Washington Nationals Trends:
When playing on Friday are 7-3
Before playing Atlanta are 5-5
After playing NY Mets are 7-3
After a loss are 9-1

A few Braves at Nationals trends to consider:
Atlanta is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Atlanta's last 5 games when playing on the road against Washington
Atlanta is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Atlanta's last 6 games
Washington is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington's last 5 games when playing at home against Atlanta
Washington is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Washington's last 10 games


Next up:
Atlanta at Washington, Saturday, July 21