Lester expected to start for the Nationals against the Braves

Updated May. 6, 2021 3:20 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Atlanta Braves (14-16, third in the NL East) vs. Washington Nationals (12-14, fourth in the NL East)

Washington; Thursday, 4:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Braves: Drew Smyly (0-2, 8.05 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 18 strikeouts) Nationals: Jon Lester (0-0, .00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 1 strikeouts)

LINE: Nationals -106, Braves -110; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Ronald Acuna Jr. and the Braves will take on the Nationals Thursday.

The Nationals are 5-6 against the rest of their division. Washington leads the National League in hitting with a .249 batting average, Josh Harrison leads the club with an average of .324.

The Braves are 7-8 against teams from the NL East. Atlanta has hit 44 combined home runs this season, most in the National League. Ronald Acuna Jr. leads them with 10, averaging one every 10.4 at-bats.

The Braves won the last meeting 5-3. Max Fried recorded his first victory and Marcell Ozuna went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs for Atlanta. Erick Fedde took his third loss for Washington.

TOP PERFORMERS: Trea Turner leads the Nationals with seven home runs and is batting .314.

Acuna Jr. leads the Braves with 21 RBIs and is batting .327.

LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 5-5, .239 batting average, 3.48 ERA, outscored by one run

Braves: 5-5, .255 batting average, 5.09 ERA, outscored by four runs

INJURIES: Nationals: Wander Suero: (oblique), Stephen Strasburg: (right shoulder), Luis Avilan: (elbow).

Braves: Touki Toussaint: (right shoulder), Mike Soroka: (achilles), Chris Martin: (fingers), Ender Inciarte: (hamstring), Guillermo Heredia: (right hamstring), Alex Jackson: (left hamstring), Travis d'Arnaud: (left thumb).

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