Happy September, y’all. The regular season has reached its final month, and the Braves are heading back on the road after a homestand that looked a lot like what they needed: six wins in seven games against the NL West, including two sweeps.
Now comes a quick two-game set against the Washington Nationals, a club that has spent much of the season getting attention for its offense. That conversation has cooled some after Washington was swept in four games by Atlanta the last time the teams met at Truist Park.
The Nationals are now 66-74, eight games under .500, and they just came out of a four-game series against the Marlins with nearly a sweep of their own. Nearly is the key word there.
Their lone loss was a gut punch, with Miami rallying for six runs in the top of the ninth after Washington had taken a 2-0 lead. That dropped the Nationals to 35 blown saves, two shy of the MLB record.
If the Braves can finally get into that bullpen, it would be a welcome way to jump-start the offense before a pivotal weekend series. But they’ll have to deal with right-hander Jake Irvin first.
He comes in at 2-8 with a 5.62 ERA and has already had mixed results against Atlanta this season. On July 30, he started off well before the Braves came back in the middle innings to win 5-4.
On May 23, he no-hit them through five innings and picked up the win in a 2-0 Washington victory.
Across 10 career outings against Atlanta, Irvin is 3-4 with a 4.08 ERA. The Braves are 29-for-134 against him, good for a .215 average and a .661 OPS.
Among hitters with at least 20 at-bats against Irvin, Michael Harris II has the best average at .292, while Matt Olson sits at .190 but has homered twice. Mike Yastrzemski is also at two home runs against him, and Ronald Acuña Jr. has one.
Atlanta will answer with AJ Smith-Shawver, who is set to make his third start since being recalled on August 18. Smith-Shawver is 0-0 with a 5.93 ERA and is coming off his longest outing of the year: five innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In that start, he threw 93 pitches, gave up five hits, allowed three earned runs, walked three and struck out three.
Only four Nationals have faced Smith-Shawver before. CJ Abrams has the most experience with seven at-bats, with Keibert Ruiz right behind him at six.
Abrams, Ruiz and Jose Tena have each collected at least one hit, while Jacob Young is 0-for-2 against him. James Wood is currently rehabbing and is expected back tomorrow.
The Braves couldn’t solve Irvin in May, but they got to him in July. September gets the next crack.
In Other News...
Braves Face A Bigger Acua And Albies Question Than 2027
The Braves next big roster decision might not be whether Ronald Acua Jr. and Ozzie Albies are back in 2027, because the club options on both players make that part of the equation look fairly straightforward. Acuas option is valued at $17 million, Albies at $7 million, and both are widely expected to be picked up after the 2026 season, keeping two familiar faces in Atlanta for at least one more year.
The trickier question is what comes after that, and it is one Atlanta has every reason to keep circling. Albies is headed toward free agency in 2028 if he is not extended, while Acuas team control beyond 2027 is limited, leaving the Braves to weigh performance, durability and long-term payroll planning all at once. Even with the near-term answers seemingly in place, the bigger issue is how much longer the club can count on both players as pillars of the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Prospect Eric Hartman Is Suddenly Forcing His Way Onto The Radar
MLB Pipelines All-Breakout team is the latest reminder that prospect lists can change fast once the season starts and players begin forcing the issue. Among the names earning that recognition is Eric Hartman, whose rise this year has put him in the same conversation as a broader group of minor leaguers who have taken meaningful steps forward relative to where they stood in the preseason.
For the Braves, Hartmans inclusion matters because it signals real momentum, not just a hot stretch. He is part of a class of prospects whose performance has started to reshape how theyre viewed across the minors, and that kind of upward move can alter a teams internal picture in a hurry. The only question now is how long he can keep turning that attention into something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Roster Rules Are Creating A Late-Season Problem For Atlanta
The Braves have begun sorting through September roster decisions with a little less flexibility than teams used to have, adding right-hander Blake Burkhalter and infielder Kyle Farmer while shifting Robert Suarez to the 60-day injured list. It is the kind of move that feels routine on paper, but it also reflects how much the modern rules have changed the end-of-season playbook, especially for clubs trying to balance health, matchups and depth in a stretch run.
September used to offer more room to carry extra arms and a deeper bench, but the current limits have narrowed those choices to 28 active players and 14 pitchers. For Atlanta, that creates a more difficult late-season equation: every roster move has to do more than just fill a spot, and the lack of extra flexibility can shape how often certain players are used, how aggressively pitchers are managed and how the Braves navigate the final weeks. [Read more 🡒]