My Team - Nationals at Atlanta

Projected starters -

Friday: Strasburg versus Teheran
Saturday: Gonzalez versus Hudson
Sunday: Zimmermann versus Maholm

(Starting pitchers subject to change)

The Nationals lost three of four in that home-and-away four-game series. Now that a taste of inter-league play is done, it's time to get back to the team that has what Washington wants.

The Braves are similar to the Orioles in that Atlanta has power in its' lineup. Between Justin Upton, Gattis, McCann, Freeman, Heyward and Uggla, that's a lot of guys who can drive the ball out of Turner Field. Even B.J. Upton has had success hitting homers at the big-league level. There will be a lot of high-stress innings on the Washington starters, and the bullpen will be roughed up if collectively they can't change speeds and locations effectively.

On the mound, Teheran has had a slightly-better-than-average year up to this point. His BAA of .285 tells me the Nationals have a chance to put some hits together in an inning. Terehan may be one of those guys you have to get to early to have a chance to win. Hudson and Maholm have each had success against Washington. In 28 starts against the Nationals, Hudson has a WHIP of  1.11 and a BAA of .238. He's given up 2 earned runs in 14 innings versus Washington. Maholm hasn't had the same career success against the Nationals, but he's only given up 2 earned runs in his two starts this year against the Nationals (15.2 IP). I hate to admit it, but if Teheran gets on a roll Friday night, the Braves could very well sweep this weekend series. The Nationals are already 5.5 games behind Atlanta in the NL East. If Washington leaves Georgia 8.5 games behind, there should be some nervous folk in the Washington clubhouse.

For Washington, Zimmerman is starting to heat up in the 3rd spot in the batting order. Between him, LaRoche and Desmond, they are trying to keep the offense afloat. The absence of Harper and Werth are glaring holes still. Suzuki is getting clutch hits every so often, and still handling pitchers with skill and grace. This Washington team is still good, but they are struggling offensively.

These Atlanta starters are the kinds of guys who mix speeds & keep hitters off balance. I think Washington's best chance to win a game in this series is Friday night. I also guess Hudson and Maholm will pitch well at home for Atlanta on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. It looks to me like the Nationals losing the last two of this three-game series.