The Friday MLB schedule will get underway with a National League East Division clash between the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals. The Braves (59-56) are a game above .500 on the road and trail Philadelphia by one full game for first place. On Thursday, Atlanta SP Kyle Muller (2-4) was rocked for six runs and recorded just seven outs during a 12-3 home loss versus Cincinnati.
Thirty-seven year old righty Charlie Morton (10-4 3.52 ERA) will take the mound for the Braves in this matchup. In his last start, Morton tossed six scoreless innings during a 3-2 home loss versus Washington.
The Washington Nationals were major sellers at the trade deadline and have dropped nine of their last ten games. On Thursday, Washington was swept during a doubleheader in New York by 4-1 and 5-4 final scores. In the second game, RP Kyle Finnegan served up a walk-off home run to 1B Pete Alonso after the Nationals (50-65) rallied for three runs to tie the game in the seventh inning.
Rookie right-hander Josiah Gray (0-0 4.00 ERA) will make his fourth career major league start. Last time out, Gray fanned ten batters and allowed one run in five innings during a 3-2 road victory against Atlanta.
