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Atlanta Braves

Next for Braves: Washington Nationals

3:54 pm July 19, 2012, by Carroll Rogers

Series preview: at Nationals

When (TV): 7:05 p.m. Friday (WPCH), 1:05 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. Saturday (WPCH), 1:35 p.m. Sunday (FSSO)

Radio: 680, 93.7, 100.5

Probable starting pitchers:

Friday: Braves RH Tommy Hanson (10-5, 4.02 ERA) vs. RH Stephen Strasburg (10-4, 2.66)

Saturday 1:05 p.m.: Braves RH Ben Sheets (1-0, 0.00) vs. RH Edwin Jackson (5-4, 3.73)

Saturday 7:05 p.m.: Braves RH Randall Delgado (4-9, 4.52) vs. LH John Lannan (6-8, 4.60 in Triple-a Syracuse)

Sunday: Braves RH Jair Jurrjens (3-3, 6.20) vs. LH Ross Detwiler (4-3, 3.15)

About the Braves:

Batting: Freddie Freeman is on a 10-game hitting streak, while going 15-for-36 (.417) with five doubles, three home runs and eight RBIs. Brian McCann has five home runs in his past eight games, including a two-run game-tying homer in the 10th inning of an eventual loss to the Giants on Wednesday. He’s on a nine-game hitting streak. Dan Uggla is 11-for-100 (.110) with 40 strikeouts in his past 30 games.

Pitching: Hanson is 1-1 with a 6.05 ERA in three starts in July after going 4-0 with a 3.13 ERA in five starts in June. One of those June wins included a 3-2 victory over the Nationals, after he gave up home runs to Steve Lombardozzi and Bryce Harper to start the game but nothing else in seven innings. Hanson’s next win will match his career high of 11, set in 2009 and 2011.

Miscellaneous: The Braves, who enter this series 3 ½ games behind the Nationals, are only 2-6 against the Nationals this season. They are 35-45 overall against them since 2008, and 15-23 all-time at Nationals Park.

About the Nationals:

Batting: Ryan Zimmerman is hitting .388 (19-for-49) with five doubles, six home runs and 13 RBIs in July. Bryce Harper has hit three of his eight major league home runs against the Braves. He went 8-for-16 (.500) with three home runs and five runs in five games in his first two series against the Braves and 2-for-14 (.143) with two runs in the last series against them June 29-July 1.

Pitching: Strasburg has taken three of his eight career losses to the Braves. He’s 16-8 with a 2.60 ERA overall, 2-3 with a 4.26 ERA against the Braves. He’s won two out of three against them this year though, while allowing seven earned runs in 15 innings. His only loss came when he had to leave a June 30 start at Turner Field after three innings with heat-related issues. Lannan has spent all season in Triple-A Syracuse but will be called up to start Saturday. He is 8-5 with a 3.25 ERA in 15 career starts against the Braves, including 3-1 with a 2.97 ERA in five starts in 2011.

Miscellaneous: Closer Tyler Clippard’s ERA rose from 1.83 to 2.83 after he allowed three runs in a blown save Tuesday against the Mets and gave up solo home runs to David Wright and Jason Bay on Wednesday. The Nationals activated Drew Storen, who had 43 saves last year, from the disabled list Thursday. He’d been out all season following April surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow.

-Carroll Rogers

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30 comments Add your comment

P-Man

July 19th, 2012
4:02 pm

Let’s get a sweep! But I’ll take 3 out of 4…

Dan Struggla

July 19th, 2012
4:03 pm

11 for 100 with 40 K’s in the past 30 games? My god, that is so bad. Starting to feel bad for Dan.

Kashi

July 19th, 2012
4:13 pm

my crystal ball tells me that DAN will go on hitting streak if we get 3/4 from washington series.

brave warren

July 19th, 2012
4:22 pm

at minimum we need to split the 4 games! would i like to sweep or take 3 of 4? hell yeah, but with our best offensive players in a funk, and having a ss that cannot hit, i would be happy with a split. the pitching matchups are actually to our advantage. we wont face gio. and strasburg is good, but not always consistant. if the mets can beat up on them, so can we! i cant wait for simmons to come back. uggla looks ugly! hes currently a automatic out, which sucks. when chipper is in there hes goood, heyward is turning the corner, mac and freddie is hot. bourn and prado were hot until last week. now the top of the order is having a little trouble. will this offense ever click on all cylinders? we need another starter. ill take greinke, dempster, as long as you can sign long term deals, go after them. i still thik we need one reliever too. someone at the back of the pen. kimbrel, eric, kris, have been excellent…the restnot so much. durbin was looking good until his last 2 outings. well heres hoping the braves can take 3 0f 4! go bravos!!!!!

space monkey

July 19th, 2012
5:48 pm

Well, we’ve already lost one. JJ is starting. 20-0 in the third.

braves fan

July 20th, 2012
2:48 am

IF YOU WANT TO INSULT MONKEY CABRERA AND SF GIANTS FANS

giantsbaseballblog.blogspot.com

ALL STARS GAME MVP HHAHAAHAHAH MEANINGLESS AWARD

CHIPPER JONES 1ST BALLOT HOF ….MELKY 1ST BALLOT HOJ (HALL OF JERKS)

Chippermania

July 20th, 2012
9:59 am

Just a thought, if the Bravos could get Josh Willingham (who is from North Alabama) to play left and another starting picture with good numbers (e.g. Edinson Volquez) it would shore up the offense and pictching. Wonder what it would take to swing that deal?

A. Different Viewpoint

July 20th, 2012
10:04 am

Think it’s time we put Uggla on the trade block, move Prado back to 2nd and look for a left fielder. Maybe the idea of “him needing a different environment” would lure another team to Dan. I like him but just don’t feel like he’s good for the Braves. He looks more than Uggla right now!

Amber Girl

July 20th, 2012
10:05 am

I love my Braves! Go Braves. Beat Nationals!!!

Alex

July 20th, 2012
11:37 am

combine salary freeman, bourn, heyward and prado is 12,695,000, uggla salary is13,146,000. so mr. wren you see how fool you are. Atlanta not Chicago or NY, or LA even not SL. we could,t afford so costly mistakes. hawks gm corrected same mistake with jj dump in him to Brooklyn. please try to do same with uggla. it’s necessary for sake of braves to be competitive in the market with significant disadvantage for braves because of cap limits depending of poor fan support. also why you keeping on the roster hinske, he is fat, out of shape and cheap, waive him and bring constanza, at least you get some speed and defence on the bench and reliable pinch runner late. no brain surgery for this move. last for current manager freddy g. infield and outfield should play best available. uggla not best available, dias is. so when jones playing it prado 2b, dias rf, if it to complicated to you freddy you not deserve to be on this position.

Buckbaloweme

July 20th, 2012
11:44 am

Mark my word, THE BRAVES WILL LOSE AT LEAST THREE IF NOT ALL FOUR GAMES TO THE NATS. Only hope after this weekend will be for wildcard. Trust me, bet the house.

Ellabell1

July 20th, 2012
11:51 am

Maybe now that Chipper has that underhand throw going on, he can pitch some to Dan and maybe get him going.

Felix

July 20th, 2012
1:19 pm

Chipper would need to not only throw underhanded but also use a softball.

No. 1 Braves Fan

July 20th, 2012
1:33 pm

As Larry Munson would say “Braves need to hunker down”.

Yogi Berra

July 20th, 2012
1:51 pm

I’ll take that bet at @11:44 Buck. I’ll bet my wife against yours.

SOS Braves

July 20th, 2012
1:53 pm

We will lose the opener because Hanson is throwing nothing but 80 MPH meatballs.

Yogi Berra

July 20th, 2012
1:55 pm

Astros and Blue Jays make a ten player deal.

Still “wishing and Hopeing” the Braves pull off a deal for pitcher and RH bat.

Yogi Berra

July 20th, 2012
1:58 pm

10 for 100….whats the law of average? Yanish will do better!

John Gibson

July 20th, 2012
2:48 pm

why are we not getting any chatter in the newspaper about potential trades and/or acquisitions?

David O'Brien

July 20th, 2012
2:55 pm

why are we not getting any chatter in the newspaper about potential trades and/or acquisitions?

Because the Braves GM and his assistants and scouts play their cards as close if not closer to the vest than any other team in baseball. A guy like Dodgers GM Ned Colletti is at the other extreme, and most teams are somewhere between.

chc4

July 20th, 2012
3:27 pm

Looks like a rainout in DC tonight.

daSarge

July 20th, 2012
4:02 pm

Braves will get swept in DC making all trade possibilities useless and terminated.

Couch Potato

July 20th, 2012
4:24 pm

Give Pastorstinky a try at second base.

henry tn

July 20th, 2012
4:34 pm

will be lucky to win 1 out of three….

Big Series

July 20th, 2012
4:34 pm

DOB: Any word on Grienke coming to the braves since most of the news on Dempster is that the Dodgers will probably have him before us? The fact that he has not accepted the Milwaukee deal could say that a deal for him could get him signed long term.

henry tn

July 20th, 2012
4:35 pm

one out of 4

Big Series

July 20th, 2012
4:36 pm

I think we at least need a split to get us over this Nationals funk we have been in the last couple of years. I would take a split…

Largo

July 20th, 2012
9:24 pm

Just once I’d like to sit down at the TV and enjoy a braves game without the other team winning the game in the first inning. Damn, that’s frustrating.

brozzelle

July 20th, 2012
9:28 pm

The Braves are just like the Falcons and Hawks they can beat the teams with a losing record but when they play good teams they get beat. San Francisco, the Nats, Yankees, Orioles, Boston all won series vs the Braves. But we can beat up on the Phillies and the Mets. The team sucks. Freddie Gonzalez is a terrible manager he is worse than Cox. Chippers glove is hurting the team terribly, to bad the NL doesnt have the DH because that is the only thing he needs to be doing. When Jason Heyward was struggling earlier this year there was rumors about moving him or sending him to AAA, but Mcann and Uggla have played terrible. Uggla either strikes out or hits a warning track fly ball. And why havent the Braves signed Michael Bourn yet. He won’t be on th team next year because ownership will not pay him what he is worth. There always trying to do something on the cheap. Ben Sheets is a nice story but cmon he is not the answer. They need at least 1 more bat and at least 2 more pitchers and starter and a long relieve guy.

TheAT

July 20th, 2012
9:36 pm

the braves—mediocre again—can’t beat anybody good. Loserville—there must be some kind of curse over sports teams in this miserable city.

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