On deck: Braves vs. Nationals

Series preview: at Nationals

When (TV): 1:05 p.m. Thursday (SPSO); 1:05 p.m. Saturday (SPSO); 1:35 p.m. Sunday (FSSO)

Radio: 680, 100.5, 93.7

Probable starting pitchers:

Thursday: Braves RH Derek Lowe (16-12, 4.00 ERA in 2010) vs. RH Livan Hernandez (10-12, 3.66)

Saturday: Braves RH Tommy Hanson (10-11, 3.33) vs. LH John Lannan (8-8, 4.65)

Sunday: Braves RH Tim Hudson (11-4, 2.89) vs. RH Jordan Zimmermann (1-2, 4.94)

Thursday’s matchup:

Lowe is 2-3 with a 6.00 ERA in five opening-day starts. He beat the Nationals twice in September with 13 shutout innings, after losing his previous four starts against them.
This is Hernandez's fourth opening-day start; he started for the Expos/Nationals in 2004-06. Six of his past eight games against the Braves have been quality starts.

Series notes:

Former Braves outfielder Rick Ankiel is projected to start in center field for the Nationals on Thursday. Ankiel hit .211 in spring training. He had three home runs and nine RBIs in 57 at-bats.
Heralded Nationals pitcher Steven Strasburg is on the 60-day disabled list, recovering from Tommy John surgery performed in September.
Braves third baseman Chipper Jones bounced back strong from surgery to repair a torn ACL. In spring training, he hit .387 and had a .433 on-base percentage. He drove in 15 runs and had four homers in 62 at-bats.
Nate McLouth recovered from a miserable 2010 season to keep his job in center field. He hit .290 with a .400 OBP in 62 spring at-bats.
Brandon Beachy edged out Mike Minor in a competition of rookies for the fifth starting spot. Beachy struck out 21, walked four and allowed 12 hits in 20 innings. He posted a 0.90 ERA.
The Nationals won the season series in 2010, taking 10 of 18 games.