3rd Sept - Nationals vs Braves

Three Reasons for Betting Tips

1. Good pitching match-up

Jordan Zimmerman has been pitching very well for the Washington Nationals and looks to build on a strong August in this match-up. He is looking for a fourth straight win for the first time since last September and has probably been the one member of the Nationals staff to showcase his best stuff as they try to remain in the battle for playoff places.

Meanwhile, Matt Wisler has struggled through August after a promising start to his rookie season. However, there were plenty of positive signs in his most recent outing on Saturday against the New York Yankees that he had worked through a few issues. He’s a good young pitcher and even as Atlanta battle through one of the worst stretches in recent franchise history, losing nine straight on the road and 19 of their last 22 overall, we still expect a good show from Wisler.

2. No Bryce Harper

He’s the spark plug for this hitting line-up and his absence is a big deal. Yes, there are other good hitters in this line-up and some of them have been hitting a lot better than Harper in recent weeks. Still, we’ll take a low Game Total in a match-up between the Braves, who are 25 games under .500 for the first time since 1990 and a Nationals’ team denied Harper, especially in a clash between these two pitchers.

3. Nationals’ need to win

We’ve already outlined why Atlanta are playing as bad as they have done for more than 25 years. Well, Washington started the season with expectations and they now find themselves trailing the Mets for the NL East lead and they are far from guaranteed a postseason place. The schedule offers them a chance with a glut of games against sub .500 baseball teams, but they need to take it and we expect them to win this match-up by more than one run as they start their end of season pursuit of New York.

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