Heading into this weekend’s three-game set in Washington, D.C, the Nationals (37-38) and the Atlanta Braves (44-32) were rolling, with the NL East’s first place team 14-4 in their last 18 and the third-place Nats winners of 17 of their last 24.
The Nationals swept a two-game set with the Braves in SunTrust Park in late May, in the first matchup of 2019 between the divisional rivals, and the Braves came into town 10-9 in their last 19 in Nationals Park after a rough stretch between 2014-16 in which they went just 2-23 in the nation’s capital.