Washington @ ATLANTA
ATLANTA +186 over Washington

BEST LINES: Pinnacle +186 Bet365 +185 SportsInteraction +195  5DIMES +186

Posted at 11:05 AM EST.

7:05 PM EST. If we’re attacking the Dodgers due to complacency, we must apply that to the Nationals too, as they will easily win the NL East and easily finish second overall in the NL. it is now a waiting game for the playoffs to start but don’t tell that to Dusty Baker, who would rather win a meaningless game in September by working his best pitcher to the bone, then worry about having said pitcher fresh and ready to go in round one. We’ll see if Dusty has learned his lesson, as he pushed Max Scherzer to 116 pitches in his last start in under six innings against these same Braves, who tagged Scherzer for seven runs. Current Braves have seen Scherzer a ton and have had success against him because they put the ball in play. While both Scherzer and Baker are gamers, we can’t imagine this start is for the purpose of proving anything or getting Max a victory. Scherzer may be destined for another five or six innings but we can live with anything because the price is so good and Atlanta’s starter is a stud in the making.

Luiz Gohera will make his third major league start after getting whacked in his first start and dominating in his second. Pitchers making their debuts are extremely unpredictable because of nerves, anticipation, excitement and all the other things that go with making it to the big show. We never put much emphasis on a poor debut it paid off when we backed Gohera against these Nationals last time out. We'll come right back on him here.  

This hard-throwing lefty has always had the ingredients to be a stud and we saw evidence of it in his last start. Gohara can reach the 96-98 mph range with his fastball from his three-quarter arm slot. It is a legitimate plus pitch and he’s done a nice job of throwing strikes with it. Adding to his effectiveness is his slider which is now considered a plus pitch as well. It misses bats due to its late break. Gohara is aided by a deceptive delivery which makes him even more dangerous. He has vaulted up prospect charts, as he’s starting to put everything together. In the minors at Triple A before the call-up, Gohara was whiffing 12.2 batters per nine innings while holding the opposition to a .219 average. He’s struck out 12 batter in 10 innings thus far and looked so much better in his second start than he did in his first. Knowing now that he can get MLB batters adds to his confidence and we’re more than thrilled to get him at home at this price against anyone.

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Our Pick

ATLANTA +186 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 3.72)

Baltimore -1½ +124 over L.A. Angels
San Francisco +100 over San Diego
Toronto +120 over Tampa Bay
Washington +135 over Cincinnati
San Diego under 83½ -105
Boston under 79½ -110