Braves' opponent: Washington Nationals
Keep an eye on: The Nationals' bullpen. The Nats took back-to-back walk-off losses in St. Louis earlier this week with Casey Janssen on the mound, bringing manager Matt Williams under fire for his decision not to use his closer, Jonathan Papelbon, in a tie game on either night. Papelbon is 5-for-5 in saves and has a 2.45 ERA since joining the Nationals in a trade July 28.
Who's hot: Bryce Harper was hitting .386 (17-for-44) with a .517 on-base percentage over his previous 13 games entering Wednesday, with six doubles, a home run and five RBIS.
Who's not: Michael Taylor was 2-for-18 (.111) over his past six games entering Wednesday.
Braves connection: Yunel Escobar had hit in five straight games entering Wednesday, in and around missing three games with a hand contusion. He is hitting .309 with nine home runs on the season. Former Brave Dan Uggla just returned from the disabled list on Tuesday after missing 22 games with back spasms. He is hitting .189 with one home run on the season.
In the news: Anthony Rendon, Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman have all been back from injuries since late July. Denard Span didn't stick with that group as he returned to the disabled list with back problems and was scheduled for season-ending surgery. The Nationals called up prospect Trea Turner, who was hitless in his first nine major league at-bats entering Wednesday.
