Washington Nationals at Atlanta Braves

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
WSH	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	9	1
ATL	1	1	0	0	0	4	0	0	—	6	12	0

Friday's 7:15 PM ET first pitch put Griffin — the National League's most unlikely All-Star story — on the mound against Bryce Elder, and on paper it looked like the mismatch it usually is. Griffin, a 31-year-old rookie fresh off a return from Japan, came in 12-2 with a 3.06 ERA, the kind of season that's turned him into one of the more talked-about names ahead of the trade deadline. Elder came in scuffling by comparison, sitting at 6-6 with a 3.84 ERA and no decision in his last outing against Baltimore.

Show fees

FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Nationals(55-55)

LLWLW

2

+1.5-190+108o9.5+122

Braves(64-45)

WWLPL

6

-1.5+186-111u9.5-120

Best BetBraves -126

Postgame

Braves won 6-2 outright, cashing the moneyline pick as the deeper lineup did just enough.

Pregame

Atlanta was the right side straight up here — Elder's had his shaky nights but this Braves lineup has enough juice to bail him out, and the -151 price reflected a real gap between a 64-45 club and a Nationals team stuck at .500. Griffin's been the better arm on the mound plenty of nights this year, but Washington's offense around him hasn't been consistent enough to make road moneyline dogs a good bet. Lay the number with Atlanta at home.

Washington's coming into this one banged up in the bullpen, with Mitchell Parker, Brad Lord, PJ Poulin and Richard Lovelady all shelved — a group that's forced the Nats to lean harder on their rotation than they'd like. Atlanta's dealing with its own absences, missing Spencer Schwellenbach, Spencer Strider and Sean Murphy for a while now, but the lineup that took the field still had enough juice to matter. The market liked Atlanta at home, and for good reason.

Foster Griffin

(13-4)·3.25 ERA

Jul 25 vs Diamondbacks

W

6.2IP

3ER

2K

1BB

108P

07/31 Lineup

Bryce Elder

(8-7)·4.03 ERA

Jul 25 @ Orioles

ND

5.0IP

1ER

8K

4BB

98P

07/31 Lineup

It played out about as expected early. Atlanta grabbed single runs in each of the first two innings and Washington answered with one of its own in the fourth, and through five it looked like the kind of grind-it-out game these two clubs have been playing all series. Then the sixth inning happened.

Atlanta strung together the big rally it's leaned on all season, sending the middle of the order through the sixth and turning a 2-run edge into a 4-run cushion by the time the inning was over. Washington got a run back in the ninth to make it respectable, but by then the Braves' bullpen had more than enough cushion to shut the door.

Washington Nationals

(55-55)

Jul 30L@ Braves4-5

Jul 29Lvs Blue Jays2-5

Jul 28Wvs Blue Jays8-6

Jul 27Lvs Blue Jays2-3

Jul 26Wvs Diamondbacks10-7

Atlanta Braves

(64-45)

Jul 30Wvs Nationals5-4

Jul 29W@ Mets1-0

Jul 29L@ Mets2-3

Jul 28P@ Mets0-0

Jul 27L@ Mets3-14

The win keeps Atlanta comfortably above .500 while its lineup carries a rotation still missing Strider and Schwellenbach. For Washington, the loss is just another data point in a season that's landed the club dead in the middle — 55-55 with a trade deadline bearing down and names like Luis Garcia Jr. drawing outside interest even while he's in the middle of a career year at the plate.

Washington Nationals

(9)

• Day-To-DayLuis Garcia Jr. (1B) — Garcia went 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, a triple and two RBI in Thursday's 5-4 loss to Atlanta.08/01
• 10-Day-ILDrew Millas (C) — Milias went 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored in Wednesday's win over the Red Sox.07/15
• 15-Day-ILBrad Lord (RP) — Lord (side) will throw a live batting practice session Wednesday, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.07/24
• 15-Day-ILPJ Poulin (RP) — Poulin will serve as the opening pitcher in Saturday's game against the Yankees, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.07/19
• 60-Day-ILMitchell Parker (RP) — Parker underwent elbow ligament repair surgery with an internal brace Wednesday, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.07/30
• 60-Day-ILRichard Lovelady (RP) — Lovelady (triceps) began a throwing program shortly after landing on the injured list June 29 and had thrown off flat ground out to 60 feet as recently as July 3, MLB.com reports.07/19
• 60-Day-ILDJ Herz (SP) — Herz (elbow) was diagnosed Monday with a left flexor strain, Kyle Williams of TheBanner.com reports.06/22
• 60-Day-ILKen Waldichuk (RP) — Waldichuk (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery and an internal brace procedure April 21 and is hopeful to return to game action at some point early in the 2027 season, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.06/11
• 60-Day-ILJosiah Gray (SP) — Gray (elbow) has resumed a throwing program, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.05/08

Atlanta Braves

(8)

• 10-Day-ILHa-Seong Kim (SS) — Kim (finger) has gone 7-for-31 (.226) with four doubles, three steals, three runs and three RBI over his last nine games for Triple-A Gwinnett.07/30
• 15-Day-ILRobert Suarez (RP) — Suarez (elbow) played catch on the field at Truist Park on Friday, Harrison Smajovits of SI.com reports.07/17
• suspensionJurickson Profar (LF) — Profar will miss the full 2026 season after the appeal of his 162-game PED suspension was denied Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILSpencer Schwellenbach (SP) — Schwellenbach (elbow) has joined his team in Atlanta and will throw a couple bullpen sessions in front of the coaching staff, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.07/31
• 60-Day-ILSean Murphy (C) — Murphy (finger) has five hits over his last two games for Triple-A Gwinnett.07/30
• 60-Day-ILSpencer Strider (SP) — Strider (elbow) will have a follow-up appointment with Dr. Keith Meister next week and may also be scheduled for an MRI, Chad Bishop of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.07/18
• 60-Day-ILJoe Jimenez (RP) — Atlanta manager Walt Weiss revealed Wednesday that Jimenez underwent another surgery on his left knee 3-to-4 weeks ago, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reports.05/13
• 60-Day-ILJoey Wentz (RP) — Atlanta placed Wentz (knee) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08

Griffin's next turn through the rotation will get watched closely no matter what happens between now and the deadline — a 31-year-old rookie having this kind of year doesn't come around often, breakout arm or trade chip depending who you ask. For the Braves, it's on to the next one with the kind of late-inning firepower that's made Truist Park a tough building all year.