Morton expected to start as Atlanta hosts Washington

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

Associated Press

Washington Nationals (49-61, fourth in the NL East) vs. Atlanta Braves (56-54, third in the NL East)

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

PITCHING PROBABLES: Nationals: Josiah Gray (0-0, 4.85 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 15 strikeouts) Braves: Charlie Morton (10-4, 4.06 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 141 strikeouts)

LINE: Braves -263, Nationals +217; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Atlanta and Washington will play on Saturday.

The Braves are 28-27 in home games in 2020. Atlanta hitters have posted a team on-base percentage of .317 this season, led by Ronald Acuna Jr. with a mark of .391.

The Nationals are 20-31 on the road. Washington has slugged .419 this season. Juan Soto leads the team with a mark of .500.

The Braves won the last meeting 8-4. Edgar Santana earned his second victory and Freddie Freeman went 3-for-4 with two RBIs for Atlanta. Erick Fedde took his eighth loss for Washington.

TOP PERFORMERS: Adam Duvall leads the Braves with 74 RBIs and is batting .228.

Josh Bell ranks second on the Nationals with 80 hits and has 60 RBIs.

LAST 10 GAMES: Braves: 7-3, .271 batting average, 3.44 ERA, outscored opponents by 27 runs

Nationals: 3-7, .259 batting average, 5.70 ERA, outscored by 14 runs

INJURIES: Braves: Huascar Ynoa: (hand), Mike Soroka: (achilles), Grant Dayton: (shoulder), Tucker Davidson: (forearm), Ian Anderson: (shoulder), Eddie Rosario: (abdominal), Marcell Ozuna: (hand), Ronald Acuna Jr.: (knee), Travis d'Arnaud: (left thumb).

Nationals: Austin Voth: (covid-19), Stephen Strasburg: (neck), Kyle McGowin: (bicep), Will Harris: (hand), Steven Fuentes: (shoulder), Luis Avilan: (elbow), Juan Soto: (knee), Jordy Mercer: (calf), Rene Rivera: (elbow), Alex Avila: (calf).

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