Immediately after the big series victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, the Atlanta Braves continue their home game day as they prepare for their encounter with the Washington Nationals at the start of this weekend’s three-game series.

The obvious good omen in Atlanta’s favor is that Chris Sale will start tonight. I don’t have to tell you how great he’s been, but I imagine it’s music to our ears reading this, so I’ll do it anyway: Sale has been fantastic on the mound this season, as he boasts an ERA of 63 and a FIP of 52. Both of these marks are either at the top of baseball’s leaderboards or just off it. He’s made 28 starts so far this season and has allowed three runs or fewer in 25 of those starts. Chris Sale has been healthy, Chris Sale has been productive, and Chris Sale has usually given the Braves a chance to win the games he’s started in. He’s been incredible this season, and I can’t imagine that will change tonight – especially considering he managed to keep Washington quiet earlier this season.

As usual, though, the main question is whether the Braves will give Sale enough run support to take advantage of what he can offer them on the mound tonight. Atlanta is 8-4 in Sale’s last 12 starts, and the Braves have scored a total of three runs in three of those four losses. Each of those three games was a low-scoring affair with the Braves ending up losing by one run. While Sale would probably be the first to tell you that he probably should’ve “just” thrown a shutout, I think we all know that Atlanta’s offense will have to step up if they want to have a real chance at winning tonight.

For the Braves, however, simply getting on offense won’t be the easiest task in the world. MacKenzie Gore will start for the Nationals tonight, and while he’s fallen on some rough patches since July, he’s made two starts this season where he kept the Braves in check while the Nationals picked up relatively comfortable wins. In those two starts, he recorded 17 strikeouts in 10.1 innings, and if Atlanta continues to fall victim to the strikeout bug, this could be the kind of start that gets MacKenzie Gore back on the right track.

The Braves should also go into this game with a goal to prove something to the Nationals. Washington is 6-2 against the Braves so far this season, and those six wins weren’t exactly close victories where the Nationals just got lucky. They hit Atlanta’s pitching staff early and often in those wins, and were absolutely the better team in those games. However, Atlanta’s pitching really started to hit its stride here in the latter part of the season, and it would honestly be a little surprising if the Nationals came here and continued to shine – especially with Chris Sale playing tonight and considering how Atlanta’s bullpen has been pitching lately.

The Nationals are far out of the running, but I have no illusions that this will be an easy game for our Braves. In the current lineup, Atlanta has have to play their best every night if they want to win, and that will be no different if they want to beat the Nationals tonight. Things are going in the right direction for the Braves right now, and they have to fight to make sure it continues that way.

Game info

Date/time of the game: Friday, August 23, 7:20 p.m. ET

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

TV: Bally Sports Southeast

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93,7 FM The Fan