Washington Nationals vs Atlanta Braves Baseball Picks

• Thursday, September 13rd, 2012

  By  Jim Sanders

  

  The MLB Network will be televising the game between the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves on Friday night. It is a matchup of the two top teams in the National League East. Let’s take a look at the game and our prediction.

  Pitching Duel Expected

  When you look at the names of the pitchers for this matchup on Friday you might not expect a pitching duel but Washington’s Ross Detwiler and Atlanta’s Kris Medlen have been excellent this season. Detwiler is 9-6 on the season with a 3.23 ERA. He is 2-0 in his last three starts with a 3.06 ERA. He is 2-1 in his career against the Braves with a 3.59 ERA.

  If there is a better starting pitcher in baseball right now than Medlen I don’t know who it would be. In his eight starts since joining the rotation he has an ERA of 0.81. He is 8-1 on the season with a 1.64 ERA. Last month he threw seven scoreless innings against the Nationals. In his career against the Nationals he is 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA.

  Nationals the League’s Best Road Team

  Washington is in first place in the National League East and one of the biggest reasons is their road record. The Nationals have the best road mark in the Major Leagues. Washington is also very good at home but the mark of a championship team is the ability to win on the road and the Nationals do it.

  Series Notes

  The Nationals have won six of the last ten in this series against the Braves. The Nationals took two of three last month at home against Atlanta with two of the three games going under the total. Washington has also won 6 of the last 10 in Atlanta but surprisingly, three of the last four meetings have gone over the total at the online sportsbook.

  Friday Night Parlay

  Anytime that Medlen goes to the mound right now the Braves are an automatic play. He has been almost unhittable of late and the Braves are winning every time he takes the hill. I will parlay the Braves with the under in this game on Friday night in baseball picks.

  For more baseball picks be sure to check out the BetDSI Facebook page.