Nationals vs Braves Preview: Young Arms Shine in Week 61

The Nationals walked into Truist Park hungry Saturday night. Jake Irvin's arm was spinning gold—five scoreless innings with zero hits allowed. The Nationals' bats woke up when it mattered. Crews launched a rocket to left field for 396 feet. Vivas followed up with his own blast to right. Washington won 2-0 and took the series lead. But Atlanta fired back yesterday in an instant classic that went eleven innings. Back and forth they went. Abrams hit two huge home runs. The Braves scratched out a 5-4 victory in extra innings. Today the Nationals come ready for round three.

Atlanta is rolling with a 36-17 record. Martin Perez starts today for the Braves—a veteran arm in a rotation loaded with star power. Spencer Strider can overpower hitters with his fastball. Chris Sale brings decades of experience and pure nasty stuff. The Braves trust this pitching staff to win games in every situation. Raisel Iglesias locks down the back end as closer. Foster Griffin starts for Washington, representing the younger talent the Nationals are building around. Washington's pitching crew is all about youth and potential. Zach Littell, Cade Cavalli, and Josiah Gray show flashes of brilliance. These young arms need to keep growing and proving themselves.

The Nationals started strong with a 2-0 shutout. Crews and Vivas both went deep in that first victory. Then came yesterday's eleven-inning war. Abrams smashed two home runs to keep Washington alive. The Braves' bats kept scratching and clawing. Tromp delivered the final blow with a single in the eleventh. It's a split series now heading into today. The Nationals need Foster Griffin to throw strikes and keep Atlanta's lineup guessing. The Braves want Perez to shut down Washington's power hitters. One of these teams leaves Truist Park with momentum.