The Nationals can afford the lull, as they are 9.5 games ahead of everyone else in the National League East, including the third-place Braves who are 11 games out. Washington, though, has goals beyond the division and is aiming for the best record in the National League in order to secure home field advantage for as many rounds as possible.
Washington currently has the second-best record in the N.L. behind only the Colorado Rockies and has the talent to finish atop the pack.
This series will be held from Monday, June 12 through Thursday, June 14, 2017, at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. Tuesday’s game will be broadcast on MLB Network.
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Pitching Matchups
The Braves will begin the series by sending Mike Foltynewicz to the mound. He is 4-5 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP on the season, and has not allowed a run over 14 innings in each of his past two starts. Foltynewicz will be tested by an elite Nationals lineup which features Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman, Trea Turner and others, and will have to be on his game.
The Nationals will start Stephen Strasburg. The fireballer is 7-2 with a 2.80 ERA on the year, striking out 89 batters in 80.1 innings pitched. Strasburg is coming off an outing in which he gave up only one run against the Dodgers.
In the second game of the series, Atlanta is scheduled to throw R.A. Dickey. The knuckleballer is 4-4 with a 4.73 ERA. The Nationals will counter with Joe Ross, who is 3-2 with an ugly 6.16 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. Ross has a fantastic strikeout-to-walk ratio and struck out 12 in 7.1 innings of one-run ball last time out against the Orioles, so he has the pedigree to improve.
The series finale will feature the Braves’ Julio Teheran against Washington's Tanner Roark. Teheran is talented but is only 5-4 with a 5.08 ERA on the season. He only gave up one run in six innings last time out and must be sharp again. Roark is 6-3 with a 3.87 ERA and while he’s not a huge strikeout hurler like some of his teammates, he gets the job done.
Bullpen Woes
On Saturday, closer Koda Glover blew a save against the Texas Rangers, losing 6-3 in eleven innings. Glover allowed two runs on three hits including a solo home run by Shin-Soo Choo in the ninth inning in his second blown save of the season.
Glover was put back on the disabled list after revealing a nagging back injury was causing him a lot of pain during last weekend’s loss. It’s another blow to an already weak bullpen.
Veteran pitcher Joe Blanton, who has a 9.49 ERA currently, has been reinstated to take Glover’s place. As a unit, the Nationals bullpen has accumulated ten blown saves this season. It is the only real weakness on the team, and one Washington must get ironed out for the postseason.
Player to Watch
Matt Kemp -- The Nationals left fielder is having a solid season. He is hitting .326 with an on-base percentage of .361. Kemp has 10 home runs and 31 RBIs this year.
Two of those home runs came the last time the Braves faced off against the Nationals and he’ll look to repeat that performance this week. Kemp is turning back the clock with this performance, and hopes to keep it rolling.
With the Braves likely out of playoff contention, Kemp could be a popular name on the trade block. It will be interesting to see if there is a market for him in the next several weeks.
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