Nationals' hurler Foster Griffin aims to stay hot vs. Braves

Left-hander Foster Griffin will go for his ninth straight victory on Friday when the visiting Washington Nationals play the Atlanta Braves in the second contest of their four-game series.

The Braves recorded a 5-4 victory in the opener on Thursday and hold a 5-3 lead in the season series. The win extended their lead to seven games over Philadelphia in the National League East and dropped Washington 2 1/2 games out of the final wild-card spot.

Griffin (12-2, 2.76 ERA) will be opposed by Atlanta right-hander Bryce Elder (6-6, 3.96) on Friday.

Griffin began his winning streak on May 19 when he beat the New York Mets.

The last nine starts have been particularly outstanding as the All-Star has gone 6-0 with a 1.58 ERA. He allowed only one run or fewer in eight of those games, the streak ending in his last appearance on Saturday when he gave up three runs in 6 2/3 innings against Arizona.

Griffin has made two career starts against Atlanta, going 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA. He defeated the Braves twice this season, most recently a six-inning scoreless stint on May 24.

It possibly could be Griffin's final start for the Nationals. Rumors persist that Washington might move him before Monday's trade deadline unless the two sides can agree on a contract extension.

"We haven't really talked about (trade rumors)," Nationals manager Blake Butera said.

Elder has recovered from his struggles prior to the All-Star Game. In two starts since the break, he has allowed only three earned runs over 11 combined innings. In his last outing on Sunday at Baltimore, Elder surrendered two runs (one earned) in five innings, striking out eight.

"I thought my stuff was really good," Elder said. "We'll take that as a positive. But a couple of the walks after the double plays just kind of -- it's just exhausting. You feel like you're rolling, then all of a sudden you're back down in a hole. As rocky as it was, I guess, I gave us a chance."

Elder has faced the Nationals twice this season, going 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA. He received no-decision versus Washington on May 22, despite giving up only one run in six innings. In eight career starts against the Nationals, Elder is 3-2 with a 2.98 ERA.

Washington hit three home runs on Thursday, giving the Nationals a league-leading 162 for the season - one more than they hit for the entire 2025 season.

Daylen Lile hit two homers and Luis Garcia Jr. crushed a 455-foot shot among his three hits on Thursday.

Atlanta's Ronald Acuna Jr. on Thursday hit his first home run since missing 38 games with a left hamstring strain. It was his eighth homer and first since May 31.

"It's good to have Ronald back and to see him hitting balls in the right-center bullpen, that's always a good sign," Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said.

Atlanta is expected to return struggling third baseman Austin Riley to the lineup on Friday. He was given a "mental health" day on Thursday with Mauricio Dubon starting at third base. Riley went 3-for-22 (.136) on the road trip and is hitless in his last 10 at-bats.

--Field Level Media