After another series loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, the Nationals will continue their road trip south to the Atlanta Braves(49-35). The Braves have been hot lately, climbing to 3.5 games behind the division leader New York Mets. The hot streak is largely because of Austin Riley returning to MVP finalist form, Dansby Swanson is one of the best shortstops in the National League, and Marcell Ozuna is starting to heat up. The Braves' real strength season has been their pitching. The bullpen has been one of the best in the league. The top of the rotation has been just as good, if not better. Onto those scary pitchers!

Friday, July 8, RHP Erick Fedde (5-5, 4.29 ERA) vs RHP Charlie Morton (4-3, 4.34 ERA) | First Pitch: 7:20p ET

Erick Fedde’s season has almost been an inverse of Morton’s. Although Fedde has rebounded recently, he looked like he was regressing extremely hard for a while. In his past three starts, he has somewhat turned it around. He has a 2.12 ERA in 17 innings pitched. All his peripherals suggest that it is entirely unsustainable, which is fair considering the small sample size, but let’s hope Fedde rides the hot streak a bit longer.

Related Article: Analysis: Despite a minor league system marred with injury, RHP Jackson Rutledge’s success has flown under the radar

Despite a rough start to the season, Charlie Morton has turned it around over his last four starts. Over his previous four starts, he has thrown 26.2 innings and struck out 35 batters. Over this span, his 1.35 ERA and 2.25 FIP rank 7^th among qualified pitchers. In other words, he has been really good.

Saturday, July 9, LHP Patrick Corbin (4-10, 5.68 ERA) vs RHP Kyle Wright (9-4, 2.91 ERA) | First Pitch: 4:10p ET

Patrick Corbin is no longer the worst pitcher in the major leagues! That is something to celebrate over. His defense has kept him down a bit (as with every Nats starter). He has looked better as of late, but that was against the Orioles, Pirates, and Marlins; teams are not necessarily known for their offense.

Most would probably say Kyle Wright is having a good year. Most people would also be right. He does everything well, strikes guys, gets groundballs, and limits walks. This is excellent for a player who was seemingly pitching his way out of the Braves' future in his first few cups of coffee. Sometimes it just takes a little time.

Sunday, July 10, RHP Paolo Espino (0-2, 3.33 ERA) vs Ian Anderson (7-5, 5.09 ERA) | First Pitch: 1:35p ET

Paolo Espino is good. His curveball is even better. Espino is one of the better pickups during the Nationals' rebuild era, and hopefully, he can stay with the team for as long as he can spin that curveball.

Ian Anderson is still struggling, just like the last time the Nationals faced him. He is what seems like the only Atlanta Brave starter that is struggling this season. On the bright side for him, expected stats say he is underperforming. On the bright side, he was very good in his last outing. Maybe the Braves rotation is finally looking its scariest. All before Soroka is back too.

Other Notes:

• Surprise, the Nationals are going to be sellers this trade deadline. Expect Cishek, Bell, and Hernández to all be gone this deadline. If Nelson Cruz is not performing, the Nats could technically hold onto him because of his mutual option next year, but it is not like offers are going to be much better in his age 43 season.
• Soto’s defense is continuing to plummet as his bat picks up steam. His reaction has dropped a little over the past season, but his first few steps between the first and third second are eighth-worst in the league.