Next for Braves: Washington Nationals
Series preview: vs. Washington Nationals
When (TV): 7:10 p.m. Monday-Wednesday (SPSO)
Radio: 680, 93.7, 106.7
Probable starting pitchers:
Monday: Braves RH Ervin Santana (14-8, 3.76 ERA) vs. RH Stephen Strasburg (11-11, 3.56)
Tuesday: Braves RH Aaron Harang (11-10, 3.72) vs. RH Tanner Roark (13-10, 2.96)
Wednesday: Braves LH Alex Wood (10-10, 2.83) vs. LH Gio Gonzalez (8-10, 3.79)
About the Braves:
Batting: Freddie Freeman is on a 10-game hitting streak, hitting 13-for-37 (.351) over that span, with four doubles, a home run and four RBIs. He's also got a 16-game hitting streak against the Nationals, hitting safely in each game he's played against them this year while batting 30-for-63 (.476) with seven doubles, four home runs and 10 RBIs. He's hit .329 with nine homers and 42 RBIs against them for his career. Ryan Doumit had two pinch hit doubles on the road trip and broke up the Rangers' shutout Sunday with a seventh-inning home run to give him five on the season. The Braves have scored two or fewer runs four times in the past seven games and 55 times this season.
Pitching: Santana is 1-1 with a 7.36 ERA in two September starts, including a loss Sept. 9 in Washington after allowing six runs (five earned) in five innings. He is 1-2 with a 6.35 ERA in three starts against the Nationals this season. Santana has allowed four or more runs in both September starts after allowing four or more earned runs only once in his previous nine starts since the All-Star break. Santana was 6-1 with a 2.62 ERA over that span.
Miscellaneous: Evan Gattis has missed the past six games with strep throat. The Braves lead the season series against the Nationals 10-6. Their series loss to the Nationals last week was only their second series loss in the past 12 against the Nationals since August of 2012.
About the Nationals:
Batting: The Nationals' magic number to clinch is four, meaning they can clinch the NL East by winning two of three in this series at Turner Field. Anthony Rendon is red hot, going 11-for-19 in a four-game series in New York with two doubles, two home runs and three RBIs. Rendon is hitting .396 overall for the month of September, hitting safely in 10 of 12 games played, with four doubles, two homers and eight RBIs. Adam LaRoche cooled off, going 0-for-9 in the last two games of the Mets series, after a stretch in which he went 9-for-21 with three home runs in six games.
Pitching: The Braves beat Strasburg to salvage the final game of a three-game series last week in Washington, 6-2. Strasburg is 0-3 with a 7.17 ERA in four starts against the Braves this season and winless in his past nine starts against the Braves over the past two seasons. For his career he is 3-7 with a 4.61 ERA in 16 career starts against the Braves and 37-23 with a 2.90 ERA in 90 starts against everyone else. The Braves avoid Jordan Zimmermann, who pitched Sunday in New York to give the Nationals a ninth straight win with him on the mound.
Miscellaneous: Ryan Zimmerman went to the Nationals' instructional league Sunday in Viera, Fla. to prepare to get some game action – first in simulated games – as he attempts to rejoin the Nationals for the last week of the season. He's been out since July 22 with a hamstring injury.
- Carroll Rogers
