Braves' opponent: Washington Nationals
Keep an eye on: Bryce Harper. He's the first player age 22 or younger to have at least 24 homers and 54 walks before the All-Star break. He's hitting .345 with 57 RBIs. He's homered in two straight games since missing Friday night's game with a hamstring strain, including in the first inning Sunday to help the Nationals get off to a nine-run start. He injured his hamstring slipping in right field, giving the Nationals a scare in what's playing out to be an MVP-candidate kind of season.
Who's hot: Former Brave Yunel Escobar is 11-for-26 (.423) over the past week, and came back from a bout with a stomach bug to go 2-for-5 with a home run on Sunday.
Who's not: Ian Desmond is 4-for-22 (.182) in his past six games.
Braves connection: Former Braves reliever David Carpenter was acquired by the Nationals on June 11 in a trade from the Yankees, who had designated Carpenter for assignment. Carpenter has done scoreless work in his first four appearances out of the Nationals' bullpen, over 3 2/3 innings. Former Brave Nate McLouth is out for the season with a shoulder injury.
In the news: Max Scherzer came one strike away from a perfect game on Sunday against the Pirates before hitting Jose Tabata with a stray slider, becoming the first pitcher since George Wiltse in 1908 to lose a perfect game with two outs in the ninth on a hit by pitch. He got his no-hitter though, the second by a Nationals' pitcher since the franchise moved to Washington (Jordan Zimmermann threw one last Sept. 28.)
