Fried expected to start as Braves host the Nationals

Updated Sep. 7, 2021 3:20 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Washington Nationals (57-80, fifth in the NL East) vs. Atlanta Braves (72-64, first in the NL East)

Atlanta; Tuesday, 7:20 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Nationals: Paolo Espino (4-4, 4.08 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 70 strikeouts) Braves: Max Fried (11-7, 3.58 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 131 strikeouts)

LINE: Braves -235, Nationals +194; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Washington Nationals travel to face the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday.

The Braves are 33-32 in home games in 2020. Atlanta is slugging .431 as a unit. Ronald Acuna Jr. leads the club with a .596 slugging percentage, including 44 extra-base hits and 24 home runs.

The Nationals are 24-41 on the road. Washington has slugged .418 this season. Juan Soto leads the team with a mark of .512.

The Braves won the last meeting 6-5. Jesse Chavez earned his third victory and Dansby Swanson went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs for Atlanta. Paolo Espino registered his fourth loss for Washington.

TOP PERFORMERS: Austin Riley leads the Braves with 149 hits and has 87 RBIs.

Soto leads the Nationals with 125 hits and has 80 RBIs.

LAST 10 GAMES: Braves: 4-6, .233 batting average, 4.02 ERA, outscored opponents by seven runs

Nationals: 2-8, .257 batting average, 7.03 ERA, outscored by 28 runs

INJURIES: Braves: Josh Tomlin: (neck), Mike Soroka: (achilles), Chris Martin: (elbow), Grant Dayton: (shoulder), Tucker Davidson: (forearm), Marcell Ozuna: (hand), Ronald Acuna Jr.: (knee).

Nationals: Stephen Strasburg: (neck), Joe Ross: (forearm), Kyle McGowin: (elbow), Will Harris: (hand), Steven Fuentes: (shoulder), Luis Avilan: (elbow), Gerardo Parra: (knee), Jordy Mercer: (calf), Keibert Ruiz: (knee).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.