Series preview: Braves at Nationals

Probable starting pitchers:

Monday: Braves LH Mike Minor (13-7, 3.15 ERA) vs. RH Dan Haren (9-13, 5.02)

Tuesday: Braves RH Freddy Garcia (1-1, 1.32) vs. RH Tanner Roark (6-0, 1.30)

Wednesday: Braves LH Alex Wood (3-3, 3.45) vs. TBA

About the Braves:

Batting: They've hit .199 and totaled 35 runs in the past 12 games (5-7)…. Chris Johnson is 19-for-53 (.358) with five doubles in his past 15 games…. B.J. Upton is 13-for-81 (.160) with one homer, six RBIs and 35 strikeouts in his past 28 games, and 1-for-24 with 12 strikeouts in his past eight…. Evan Gattis went 0-for-12 with five strikeouts in the Padres series, after going 11-for-35 with four doubles, four homers and 10 RBIs in his previous nine games.

Pitching: Minor is 2-2 with a 4.79 ERA in his past six starts, after going 11-5 with a 2.76 ERA in his 23. He's 7-4 with a 2.65 ERA in 14 road starts, including 1-3 with a 2.91 ERA in his past five. Atlanta scored one run while he was in the game in each of his past three road losses, including games in where he allowed two runs in eight innings and two runs in seven innings. He's 3-2 with a 5.03 ERA in eight starts vs. the Nationals, with a 7.04 ERA, .414 opponents' average and no decisions in two this season…. Garcia is 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA in three games (two starts) vs. the Nationals, and Wood allowed five hits, one run and no walks with nine strikeouts in 6-1/3 innings in his only start against them (no decision).

Miscellaneous: The Braves are 16-4 with a 1.86 ERA in their past 20 games against the Nationals, including 12-4 with a 2.06 ERA this season. The Braves are 6-0 at Nationals Park this season…. Against Haren, B.J. Upton is 10-for-34 with five homers and Brian McCann is 4-for-12 with a homer.

About the Nationals:

Batting: Wilson Ramos is 18-for-55 (.327) with six homers and 22 RBIs in 14 games this month, including 4-for-4 with five RBIs in Sunday's 11-2 rout against the Phillies…. Jayson Werth has hit .371 since July 4 with 13 doubles, 15 homers and 47 RBIs in 64 games, including eight extra-base hits and seven RBIs in his past nine games…. Ryan Zimmerman is 36-for-107 (.336) in his past 25 games and has nine homers in his past 14 games.

Pitching: Haren is 5-2 with a 3.59 ERA in his past 10 starts, with 50 strikeouts and nine walks in 52-2/3 innings. He held the Mets to a hit and a walk with eight strikeouts in six scoreless innings Wednesday, after giving up 15 hits and 12 runs in 5-2/3 innings over his previous two starts. He's 5-5 with a 6.00 ERA in 12 home starts, including 2-4 with a 6.94 ERA in his past seven. Haren is 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA in two games (one start) against the Braves this season, his only appearances against them since 2010. He allowed four hits and one run in eight innings May 2 in Atlanta…. In two relief appearances vs. the Braves, Roark has allowed two hits and one walk with six strikeouts in six scoreless innings.

Miscellaneous: The Nationals are 8-1 with a 2.11 ERA and .318 batting average in their past nine games, with 20 homers and 61 runs (6.8 per game)…. They have scored three runs or fewer in 14 of 16 games against the Braves this season…. RH Ross Ohlendorf was expected to start Wednesday, though still not official as of Sunday.

By David O’Brien