Washington Nationals vs Atlanta Braves Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/23/2026

Game Time: 4:10 pm ET, Saturday, May 23, 2026

Venue:  Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

Where to Watch:  MLB TV

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Nationals +163, Braves -199; Over/Under:  9 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Nationals +165, Braves -200; Over/Under:  9 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Nationals +165, Braves -200; Over/Under:  9 runs

Washington Nationals:  25-26 (3rd place, NL East)

Atlanta Braves:  35-16 (1st place, NL East)

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Washington Nationals:  6-4 last 10

Atlanta Braves:  7-3 last 10

The Nationals are entering this series off a loss and split their 4-game series against the New York Mets 2-2 in their last series. They enter this game with a 25-26 record overall and have a road record of 15-10. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Braves on Saturday with the series opener still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 4th in the MLB with a .739 OPS. Miles Mikolas is their starting pitcher on Friday while Jake Irvin is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 1-4 with a 5.79 ERA this season. His team won 2 of their last 3 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season appearance, he allowed 2 ER, 1 HR, and 1 BB with 6 SO on 6 hits through 4 IP against the New York Mets.

The Braves are entering this series off a win and won their 4-game series against the Miami Marlins 3-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 35-16 record overall and have a home record of 16-8. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Nationals on Saturday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 2nd in the MLB with a .774 OPS. Bryce Elder is their starting pitcher on Friday while Grant Holmes is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 3-1 with a 3.80 ERA this season. His team won their last 5 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 0 earned runs, 0 homers, and 1 walk with 4 strikeouts on 5 hits through 6 innings pitched against the Boston Red Sox.

The current betting odds have the Braves listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Braves have looked great in their games this season with their 35-16 record overall which has them right at the top of the NL East with one of the best records in MLB. They have looked great in their own ballpark too with their 16-8 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Nationals haven't looked great in their games this season with their 25-26 record overall which has them right in the middle of the NL East. They have been a good road team though with their 15-10 road record this year. The Nationals are 6-4 in their last 10 games and they have looked better lately with one of the best offenses in MLB this season, but the Braves are one of the best teams in the league right now and have one of the best offenses in MLB too. They have also been rolling lately, going 7-3 in their last 10 games, and they have a much better pitching staff to back them up while the Nationals have had some terrible pitching this year. That won't change in this game either since the Nationals are going with Irvin in this one and he hasn't looked great this year. He is 1-4 with a 5.79 ERA and he has been giving up a lot of runs in his starts. He only gave up 2 earned runs in his last start and the team has won 2 of their last 3 games with him starting now, but that hasn't been a common theme for him this year and he isn't going to keep this Braves offense off the board. The Braves are going with Holmes in this one and he has looked good in his starts. He is 3-1 with a 3.80 ERA and the team has had a ton of success with him this year. They have won 5 games in a row now with him starting and he is coming off another great start in which he gave up no runs. Look for the Braves to continue rolling at home with their offense getting the job done here against a much worse pitching staff. The best way to place a bet here is on the Braves to win this game and on the runline. 

Nationals Braves Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Saturday, May 23, 2026 (4:10 pm ET start time) is Braves 9 Nationals 3.

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Washington Nationals: 81-105 (+17.9 units) on the moneyline in road games. 38-41 (+15.6 units) on the moneyline vs. a team with a good bullpen whose ERA is 3.45 or better. 49-67 (+11.7 units) on the moneyline vs. teams outscoring opp by 0.5 or more runs/game on the season. 24-12 OVER when playing against a top-level team (Win Pct. > 62%).

Atlanta Braves: 200-177 (-37.3 units) on the moneyline in all games. 101-85 (-26.2 units) on the moneyline in home games. 132-136 (-49.2 units) on the moneyline against right-handed starters. 10-4 OVER against division opponents.

Washington Nationals:  M. Kranick (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Elbow. K. Waldichuk (SP) Sixty Day IL - Forearm. C. Henry (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Shoulder. J. Gray (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. D. Herz (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. T. Williams (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

Atlanta Braves:  R. Acuna Jr. (RF) Day To Day - Thumb. D. Baldwin (C) Ten Day IL - Oblique. K. Farmer (DH) Ten Day IL - Forearm. S. Murphy (C) Ten Day IL - Finger. D. Young (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. A. Smith-Shawver (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. H. Waldrep (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. J. Wentz (RP) Sixty Day IL - Knee. J. Jimenez (RP) Sixty Day IL - Knee. S. Schwellenbach (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

“These guys were sick of hearing about it. A lot of these players, too, are in the same boat. A lot of them might have been a DFA pick up, waiver pickup, smaller trade pieces, they also feel like they have a chip on their shoulders to prove (something) to the teams where they came from.” - Blake Butera on his team’s improvement this season. 

“It's good to have him back. The last time we saw him on the field, he was making a game-saving catch running into the wall in LA. So it's nice having two guys on the bench at the same time with what I call game-changing speed, him and (Jorge) Mateo.” - Walt Weiss on having Eli White back with the team.

James Wood (L) LF

Curtis Mead (R) 3B

Andrés Chaparro (R) 1B

CJ Abrams (L) SS

Dylan Crews (R) RF

Daylen Lile (L) DH

Jacob Young (R) CF

Nasim Nuñez (S) 2B

Keibert Ruiz (S) C

Ronald Acuña Jr. (R) RF

Michael Harris II (L) CF

Matt Olson (L) 1B

Ozzie Albies (S) 2B

Dominic Smith (L) DH

Austin Riley (R) 3B

Mike Yastrzemski (L) LF

Ha-Seong Kim (R) SS

Chadwick Tromp (R) C

Batting Average:  CJ Abrams (.297)

Hits:  CJ Abrams (54)

Home Runs:  James Wood (13)

RBI:  CJ Abrams (42)

Stolen Bases:  Nasim Nuñez (21)

Wins:  Foster Griffin (5)

Saves:  Gus Varland (4)

ERA:  Orlando Ribalta (1.80)

Batting Average:  Chadwick Tromp (.500)

Hits:  Drake Baldwin (57)

Home Runs:  Matt Olson (14)

RBI:  Matt Olson (42)

Stolen Bases:  Ronald Acuña (7)

Wins:  Chris Sale (7)

Saves:  Raisel Iglesias (8)

ERA:  Raisel Iglesias (0.00)

Managers:

Washington Nationals: Blake Butera (1st season)

Atlanta Braves: Walt Weiss (1st season)