The Washington Nationals will kick off their final road series of the 2025 season tonight as they face the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta. The Nationals are scheduled to send LHP MacKenzie Gore (5-14, 4.00 ERA) to the mound while LHP Chris Sale (5-5, 2.35 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound for the Braves.

Atlanta recorded its first-ever four-game sweep of the Washington franchise last week, outscoring the Nationals 31-10 across the series. The Braves now hold a 7-3 advantage in the season series through 10 games.

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On deck…

Tomorrow night, the Nationals will play game two of three against the Braves with the scheduled first pitch of 7:15 p.m. EDT. The Washington Nationals are scheduled to send RHP Brad Lord (5-8, 4.18 ERA) to the mound while the Nationals will face RHP Hurston Waldrep (5-1, 3.04 ERA) from the Atlanta Braves.

In the hole…

On Wednesday, the Nationals will play their final road game of the 2025 season with the first pitch scheduled for 12:15 p.m. EDT. The Nationals are scheduled to send LHP Andrew Alvarez (1-1, 2.84 ERA) to the mound while the Nationals will face RHP Bryce Elder (8-10, 5.36 ERA) from the Atlanta Braves.

Clayton Beeter has been dominant since joining the Nationals on Aug. 5, recording one save, seven holds, and posting a 2.66 ERA (6 ER/19.1 IP) while holding opponents to a .123 average (8-for-65, HR). Since Aug. 17, he has delivered 15 scoreless outings and 12 hitless appearances across 16 games, producing a 1.17 ERA (2 ER/15.1 IP) and limiting hitters to a .102 average (5-for-49, all singles). On Sept. 14, Beeter (1.0 IP, H, BB, 3 SO) notched his first career save in Washington’s 4-3 win over Pittsburgh.

Additionally, Jose A. Ferrer has gone 2-0 with nine saves, two holds, a 2.29 ERA (5 ER/19.2 IP), and a 20-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his last 17 outings. He has converted 9 of 10 save chances in that stretch, with his nine saves since Aug. 9 ranking third-most in the National League.

Dylan Crews is hitting .288/.339/.481 (15-for-52) with two doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, and eight runs scored over his last 15 games, good for an .820 OPS. He has hit safely in 10 of those games, including a current six-game streak, and has reached base in 11 of 15.

James Wood (T-4th, 37) and CJ Abrams (T-7th, 34) both rank among the National League leaders in doubles, making Washington one of just two NL teams (along with the Mets) to feature multiple players in the top 10. Wood is tied for the MLB lead with 16 doubles since Aug. 8, with six of his last 11 hits going for two bases. Abrams has set a career high with 34 doubles this season, collecting the 100th of his career on Sept. 8 in Miami.

Additionally, James Wood is tied for fourth in Major League Baseball among left-handed hitters with 54 hits against left-handed pitching.

MacKenzie Gore tossed 5.1 scoreless innings in Game 2 against Atlanta on Sept. 16 at Nationals Park, allowing just two hits with five strikeouts and three walks. He faces the Braves for the second time this season and the eighth time in his career. Over his last five starts against Atlanta, Gore is 2-1 with a 1.78 ERA (5 ER/25.1 IP), tallying 29 strikeouts against seven walks.

With his five strikeouts in that outing, Gore reached a new career-high with 182 strikeouts this season, surpassing his previous mark of 181 set in 2024. Should he record 200 strikeouts, Gore would become just the fifth pitcher in Nationals history to hit that milestone, joining Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin, and Gio Gonzalez.

Among National League pitchers, Gore ranks fourth in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (10.39), 13th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.03), and his 182 strikeouts overall stand among the league leaders.

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No team handed the Braves more losses last season than the Nationals, as Atlanta went 5-8 in 13 head-to-head matchups. It marked the first time since 2019 that the Braves dropped at least six games to Washington, and the first season-series loss since 2017. Earlier this year, Atlanta took three of four from the Nationals at Truist Park, where the Braves hold a 38-33 (.535) all-time record against Washington. Still, the Nationals’ .465 winning percentage at the ballpark is the highest of any NL East opponent.

Drake Baldwin recorded the first triple of his Major League career yesterday, finishing the game 2-for-4 with a walk, a run scored, and an RBI. The rookie shined in the three-game set at Detroit, going 5-for-12 with two home runs and six RBI.

Among NL rookies with at least 200 plate appearances this season, Baldwin ranks first in RBI, second in homers (18), total bases (175), average (.273), slugging (.459) and OPS (.800), and third in on-base percentage (.340).

On the mound for the Atlanta Braves

Chris Sale gets the start tonight for Atlanta as he looks to pick up his first career win against the Nationals. The 6-foot-6 left-hander is 0-2 despite a strong 2.56 ERA (9 ER/31.2 IP) over seven career outings (five starts) versus Washington, including 8.0 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts against them just six days ago.

Washington is one of only four clubs Sale has yet to defeat, along with Miami (0-2 in three games), St. Louis (0-0 in two games), and his current team, Atlanta (0-2 in two games). After a rough start to the year with a 6.17 ERA (16 ER/23.1 IP) in his first five outings, Sale has rebounded in dominant fashion, posting a 1.37 ERA (14 ER/91.2 IP) across his last 14 starts since April 25—the lowest in the National League and second-best in MLB over that span (min. 70.0 IP).