Series preview: Braves vs. Nationals
Series preview: Braves vs. Nationals
When (TV): 7:35 p.m. Friday (WPCH), 4:05 p.m. Saturday (Fox), 8:05 p.m. Sunday (ESPN)
Radio: 680, 93.7, 100.5
Probable starting pitchers:
Friday: Braves RH Kris Medlen (8-1, 1.64 ERA) vs. LH Ross Detwiler (9-6, 3.23)
Saturday: Braves RH Tommy Hanson (12-8, 4.35) vs. RH Edwin Jackson (9-10, 3.85)
Sunday: Braves LH Mike Minor (8-10, 4.42) vs. LH Gio Gonzalez (19-7, 2.93)
About the Braves:
Batting: Michael Bourn has hit .177 (14-for-79) with one extra-base hit, five runs, 21 strikeouts and a .495 OPS in his past 22 games…. Freddie Freeman has hit .196 (19-for-97) with four homers and a .687 OPS in his past 28 games…. Chipper Jones is 15-for-65 (.231) with more errors (three) than extra-base hits (two) in his past 19 games…. While many Braves have struggled lately, Martin Prado has hit .308 with 14 extra-base hits (four HRs), 19 RBIs and an .826 OPS in his past 31 games.
Pitching: Medlen has won six consecutive starts and is 7-0 with a 0.81 ERA in eight since moving from the bullpen. He’s 12-0 with 2.64 ERA in 22 starts since the beginning of 2010, and 13-0 in his past 24 starts dating to 2009. The only other current big-league pitcher to have a streak of more than 20 starts without a loss is Jose Contreras, who’s on the Phillies’ 60-day DL. He went 17-0 in 24 starts for the White Sox over a span in 2005-2006…. Medlen is 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA in 10 games against the Nationals including one start. He pitched seven scoreless innings (seven hits, one walk, seven strikeouts) in an Aug. 22 win against them…. Minor is 2-2 with a 5.26 ERA in five career starts against the Nationals, and Tommy Hanson is 3-3 with a 4.27 ERA in 11 starts against them.
Miscellaneous: The Braves have won 19 consecutive starts by Medlen; the last team to win at least 19 consecutive starts by a pitcher was the 2001 Yankees, who won 20 in a row by Roger Clemens…. Against Detwiler, Prado is 11-for-19 and Reed Johnson is 5-for-9 with a homer, while Bourn is 1-for-13 and Dan Uggla is 0-for-8…. Jason Heyward is 18-for-58 (.310) with two homers and a .403 OBP in 15 games vs. Washington in 2012.
About the Nationals:
Batting: Ryan Zimmerman has hit .339 with 36 extra-base hits (17 homers), 53 RBIs and a 1.023 OPS in his past 65 games, and is 23-for-64 (.359) with four homers and 15 RBIs in 15 games vs. the Braves…. Adam LaRoche has hit .279 with 10 homers, 30 RBIs and an .862 OPS in his past 40 games, including .378 with six homers and 11 RBIs in 12 games this month.
Pitching: Detwiler is 5-3 with a 3.14 ERA in 14 starts since returning to the rotation, including 1-2 with a 4.54 ERA in six road starts. Lifetime against the Braves, he’s 2-1 with a 3.59 ERA in 10 games (seven starts). Left-handed batters have a puny .146 average and .481 OPS this season against Detwiler, while righties have hit .267 with a .720 OPS…. Jackson is 0-1 with a 3.21 ERA in six games (four starts) vs. the Braves, and Gonzalez is 2-1 with a 4.86 ERA in three starts against them.
Miscellaneous: Since the All-Star break, the Nationals lead the NL with a .278 average and rank second in runs (299) and OBP (.336). The Braves are 14th in average (.236), ninth in runs (244) and eighth in OBP (.320)…. Washington leads the NL with a 3.28 overall ERA, including a league-best 3.31 ERA by starters. The bullpen’s 3.23 ERA ranks fifth in the NL, two spots behind Atlanta’s 2.98…. The Nationals are 10-5 vs the Braves, including four wins in the past five games. They’ve held Atlanta to two runs or fewer in five of 15 games, including three of the past five.
By David O’Brien
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40 comments Add your comment
Matt
September 13th, 2012
4:44 pm
Matthew 19:30
Matt
September 13th, 2012
4:46 pm
or if you are tired of the above, how about Mark 9:35…
flange1
September 13th, 2012
4:46 pm
Thanks DOB!
One Big Dummy
September 13th, 2012
4:47 pm
How about if we’re tired of you, Matt?
Oregon Brave
September 13th, 2012
5:06 pm
Amen, One Big Dummy.
Jeff Randall
September 13th, 2012
5:22 pm
Matt, if you’re going to post bible verses, at least pick fun ones:
Ezekiel 23:20
brave warren
September 13th, 2012
5:28 pm
this team is making me say deja vu! i see it happeing again and its painful. if they fall again this close to the end they need to fire fredi. he does not motivate these guys like bobby did. they cant finish. in 2010 they got the wild card but barely. then they ran out of gas last season at the end, and now its the same thing. running out of gas and they hit the wall.
brave warren
September 13th, 2012
5:28 pm
this team is making me say deja vu! i see it happeing again and its painful. if they fall again this close to the end they need to fire fredi. he does not motivate these guys like bobby did. they cant finish. in 2010 they got the wild card but barely. then they ran out of gas last season at the end, and now its the same thing. running out of gas and they hit the wall.
retired
September 13th, 2012
5:58 pm
@brave warren even repeating yourself i am feeling the same thing. and after last year i swore i wouldn’t get emotionally invested in this team just casual observation. though after Chipper’s walk off the other night i relapsed …. dang it i can’t take another sept 2011. come on boys snap out of it i’m much too old for this. need a sweep of Nats bad….. real bad…..
retired
September 13th, 2012
5:58 pm
@brave warren even repeating yourself i am feeling the same thing. and after last year i swore i wouldn’t get emotionally invested in this team just casual observation. though after Chipper’s walk off the other night i relapsed …. dang it i can’t take another sept 2011. come on boys snap out of it i’m much too old for this. need a sweep of Nats bad….. real bad…..
retired
September 13th, 2012
5:59 pm
only clicked once whats up
Jim Powell, Braves' spin doctor
September 13th, 2012
7:25 pm
Dan Uggla has found his swing and the Braves are headed for the World Series !
Get those post-season tickets while they last !
Frank Wren
September 13th, 2012
7:44 pm
I love this offense and I love .230 hitters. I have turned McCann into a .230 hitter. We are working on Bourn. Can’t you tell? Heck, the Braves even have Uggla batting well below .230.
……What can I say? I have a gift.
Lil Spanky
September 13th, 2012
8:15 pm
I think Uggla wiil be traded or released in off season. Do u ?
Alfalfa
September 13th, 2012
8:19 pm
Shut up Spanky. Uggla,Waldo,& Moynd are cool. They can’t play baseball very well but they are cool.
Alfalfa
September 13th, 2012
8:19 pm
Shut up Spanky. Uggla,Waldo,& Moynd are cool. They can’t play baseball very well but they are cool.
Fredo
September 13th, 2012
9:01 pm
funny how now it looks like that Philly series will be even bigger than this one. Wouldn’t have thought that last month
ChipperisGod
September 13th, 2012
9:59 pm
Start Johson, and give Mike B a break tomorrow.
Realistic
September 13th, 2012
11:21 pm
Matt (@ 4:48): How about this one, from the article? Nats 10:5.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Unexpectedly Revised Downward)
September 14th, 2012
5:37 am
Do the Braves get swept, or do they salvage one win out of this series?
I think they’ll get the one win. That’s just me–I’m an optimist.
bravesgirlforever
September 14th, 2012
8:12 am
thanks DOB for noting what Prado has done. No one seems to appreciate him as he is never mentioned but in the last 4 or 5 games, when I looked up–who is on base–Prado. He has been consistent and unbelievable that Wren wanted to trade him last year. Prado can play any position. Problem with Prado? none that I can see. Check out this comment fromDOB
“While many Braves have struggled lately, Martin Prado has hit .308 with 14 extra-base hits (four HRs), 19 RBIs and an .826 OPS in his past 31 games.”
and in those 31 games he played SS, 2nd base, 1str base, LF, 3rd base.
UniQUE Player and my absolute favorite. shame the commentators, etc. have hardly noticed him
reckingball
September 14th, 2012
8:22 am
Looking for a Braves win tonight.
go braves!
HAL
September 14th, 2012
8:25 am
prado is and theres no doubt about this our mvp born loser should be benched from now tell free agency see ya mike or born loser as i like too call him
alex
September 14th, 2012
9:07 am
@reckingball, pass the bottle-I need some of what you’re drinking.
as for Prado: quiet,professional and an excellent team player-a joy to watch! Definitely team MVP.
Fredi Gonzalez (not THAT Fredi)
September 14th, 2012
9:20 am
Do you think the Phillies would trade Uggla for Utley? The Phillies might want Uggla in that little league park they play in. The Braves could use a good veteran like Utley next year after Chipper retires.
reckingball
September 14th, 2012
9:23 am
@alex……..So, you are saying that there is no-way that the Braves will win tonight? Not a chance, huh?
Now, is that classified as a loser mentality that you have there, or what?
reckingball
September 14th, 2012
9:25 am
Or is that called a defeatist mentality?
Probably could be called either one, or both.
go braves
henry tn
September 14th, 2012
10:02 am
@ matt when are you ever going to learn that that your bible is no more than 2-6 thousand year old ignorance go peddle your ignorance in a hypocrite social club called a church….
yep
September 14th, 2012
11:12 am
they should start Reed Johnson in center tonight. Give Bourn a night off with the Nats startin a lefty. hopefully he’ll get his head cleared and rock the Nats faces off tomorrow.
jim
September 14th, 2012
11:28 am
The Phillies would have to throw in Ruiz and Hamels as well for the Braves to make that trade. Power hitters like Uggla are too valuable to only bring back Chase Utley.
jim
September 14th, 2012
11:49 am
Have people noticed that the teams making the big deadline moves are the ones who have been struggling or stuck in neutral. Dempster has not created separation from the A’s for the Rangers. Greinke has not helped the Angels catch the A’s. The Deodgers have been collapsing faster than the Braves since adding Victorino, Blanton, Gonzalez, and Beckett. Wandy Rodriguez has not helped the Pirates,and Maholm has been a 500 pitcher since joining the Braves with an ERA north of Delgado’s. The teams surging right now are the sellers — the Phillies, the Brewers — and teams that are getting a lift from young players and September callups — Orioles, A’s.
Adding the likes of Miguel Battista and Lyle Overbay has done nothing to improve our depth. The call ups — Delgado, Teheran, Boscan add nothing if they are never used. Only Gearrin and Moylan have had significant roles since the rosters have increased. Why not add people who had good years in the minors (Mejia, Cunningham, Gattis) instead of Overbay, and Bautista? They could only do as badly as the people they would replace and might have provided a spark.
Hopefully Johnson and Ross are in the lineup tonight for Bourn and McCann, but there aren’t a lot of ways of rearranging the deck chairs (the lineup) with the limited choices available on the bench.
Bronke
September 14th, 2012
12:07 pm
I wish the Braves would play more small ball. It also seems there conditioning is an issue each September. Teams like Milwaukee are playing loose and so are teams Like Oakland. The Braves play uptight and are always looking for the miracle swing for someone’s bat. When is the last time the Braves put fear in opponents faces with their lineup? They have become very predictable for their opponents. Outside of Medlen, their staff doesn’t cause teams to back off. I have stated before and will hold unto this untill there is a change on top! Braves need a winning manager for September, October basebal! There is no substitute for a winning manager! You cannot hide Freddi G and other teams no it as well. Let’s hope for a good close out to Chipper’s last year.
jim
September 14th, 2012
12:17 pm
The real question is whether the Braves have collapsed down the stretch the past couple of seasons, or played over their heads earlier in the year. Medlen has been great and Hudson solid, but the starting rotation as a whole is decidedly middle of the pack. Kimbrel and EOF have been great, but the rest of the pen including Venters is just average. The lineup is vulnerable to lefties and has too many streaky hitters. Uggla and McCann have been struggling since before the AS break and Bourn since. Chipper has had a good year, but looks to be wearing down now and has only played in fewer than 2/3 of the games. The bench is among the worst in MLB. The team ranks high statistically in defense (thanks mainly to Simmons and Janish making few errors at SS), but only those SS, Bourn, and Heyward are plus defenders. Jones/Francisco has limited range at 3B and Chipper has been making a lot of errors (or not making plays that should be made and are not called errors). Freeman is very good at scooping throws at 1B, but does not have great range. Prado gets a star for being able to handle multiple positions and do it with few errors.
Should the team be condemned for struggling down the stretch, or applauded for playing better than their personnel during most of the year?
Tumbledown
September 14th, 2012
12:44 pm
jim – Overall, I believe that the Braves’ have slightly overachieved with regard to their overall record. I base this purely on my own subjective view of the Braves’ payroll, overall talent level, etc.as compared to all of the other teams. I feel that several other teams have more talent and are just better. These teams include the Yankees, Angels, Rangers, Orioles, Tigers, Reds, Giants, and Nationals.
If the Braves were to lose out on a WC playoff spot altogether, I would find it hard not to condemn them in the final analysis as you can’t blow large leads two years in a row. If they reach and lose the one-game playoff, I would be very disappointed in another playoff debacle. Losing in the NLDS would leave me feeling kinda whatever upon final reflection, as that is what I would expect from the Braves with their talent level compared to the likes of the Nationals and Reds. Getting further in the playoffs should be deemed a success, although I know I would be clamoring for the WS ring.
Posts about The Braves From Other Great Blogs issue #1 | Atlanta Braves Dugout Online | Atlanta Braves Blog
September 14th, 2012
1:46 pm
[...] Miller Park, Atlanta Braves vs. Milwaukee Brewers, 9/12/12, bottom of the first more… Series preview: Braves vs. Nationals – blogs.ajc.com 09/13/2012 Series preview: Braves vs. Nationals When (TV): 7:35 p.m. Friday [...]
yellowman
September 14th, 2012
4:01 pm
Right on, Bronke. But, I think Prado’s “versatility” is overrated – he was lost at 1B and allowed a run to score on a boneheaded play, for instance – just because FG puts him there doesn’t necessarily mean he is *good* at it. And although Jones can still swing a mean bat, defensively he is awful these days – no denying that. His knee keeps him from fielding even routine grounders in time.
An aside: previous posts have pointed out FG’s lack of encouragement, much less even acknowledging the players as they return to the dugout. Not that he must every time, but I *never* see it happen, unless of course they’re coming in after…wait for it…hitting a HR.
wayne
September 14th, 2012
6:03 pm
The braves may win tonight on the arm of Medlin, even without any consistent hitting. Tomorrow will be different story, hangem Hanson can hang a curve ball or slider better than any pitcher I’ve ever seen. Changing hitting coaches haven’t changed one thing. I don’t know the answer, but I don’t think the coaches know either.
Oh DOB...How Do You Keep Your Job With The Meatball Questions You Lob?
September 14th, 2012
6:23 pm
Folks, this is why I can’t come in here every day. You guys keep bitchin about things you can’t control!! Folks, you have to tip your capper to the OTHER TEAM! Sometimes, the better team WINS! Folks, its a crap shoot when you are at this level. And what do you expect when you keep picking up pitchers from the crap heap? Really, fellow Cap Tippers?
Folks, please. The other teams have to beat the bad teams. You lose 72. You win 72. Its beating the bad teams that seperates you and that is what these teams are doing.
southgabrave
September 14th, 2012
6:33 pm
What is the line-up tonight?
double
September 14th, 2012
10:54 pm
Lil Barry -You cup may be half full.I think your head is more than half empty.Braves win two.