Atlanta @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 13, 2019 ) Atlanta 5, Washington 0

The Atlanta Braves extended their National League East lead while Nick Markakis missed 43 games with a fractured left wrist, and with their outfielder back in the lineup they look to continue closing in on the division crown Saturday at the Washington Nationals. Markakis went 2-for-4 with a sacrifice fly and a run scored in Friday’s 5-0 victory in his first game since July 26, as the Braves pushed their lead over the Nationals to 9 ½ games and lowered their magic number to six.

Second baseman Ozzie Albies added three hits and slugged his 23rd homer of the season – giving Atlanta a franchise record-tying 235 longballs on the season (2003) – and the Braves improved to 20-5 in their past 25 games as starter Mike Soroka held Washington to one hit across six scoreless innings. The news was not all good for the Braves as first baseman and NL MVP candidate Freddie Freeman (.302, 38 homers, 117 RBIs) left in the fourth inning with right elbow soreness, a move the team labeled as precautionary, and Freeman could be back in the lineup as soon as Saturday. Washington has lost four of five meetings with the Braves in the past nine days and finished with only three hits while being shut out for the second time in its past four games Friday, seeing its lead over the Cubs for the top NL wild card spot sliced to 2 ½ games. Third baseman Anthony Rendon, who came into Friday leading the NL in hitting and on a 27-game on-base streak (matching the longest of his career), went 0-for-4.

TV: 4:05 p.m. ET, FS South (Atlanta), MASN (Washington)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Mike Foltynewicz (6-5, 5.00 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Austin Voth (1-1, 4.00)

Foltynewicz appears to have put his earlier struggles behind him, pitching to a 1.91 ERA with a .212 opponents batting average and 24 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings across his past five starts. The 27-year-old limited Philadelphia to one run on three hits with no walks and seven strikeouts in seven innings Monday, winning his second consecutive start six days after firing five shutout innings against Toronto. Foltynewicz faced Washington in his final start before a six-week demotion to Triple-A Gwinnett on June 22, allowing eight runs on eight hits in four innings.

Voth makes just his sixth start (seventh appearance) of the season, but it will mark his third matchup against the Braves after facing them in Atlanta one week ago. Pressed into an emergency start on Sept. 7, the 27-year-old gave up two runs on three hits with six strikeouts in four innings but took the loss, five days after pitching 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief with two hits allowed against the Mets. Voth, who also gave up two runs to Atlanta in six innings of his big-league season debut June 23, went 4-6 with a 4.34 ERA in 24 minor-league starts this season.

WALK-OFFS

1. Nationals SS Trea Turner went 0-for-4 Friday, but in 12 games this month is batting .308 with four doubles, one homer, three RBIs and nine runs scored.

2. Atlanta placed INF/OF Johan Camargo on the injured list with a microfracture in his right shin.

3. Washington CF Victor Robles went 1-for-3 with a double, and has reached base in 27 of his past 30 games.

PREDICTION: Braves 5, Nationals 3