Atlanta @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 2, 2011 ) Atlanta 3, Washington 9

THE STORY: The Washington Nationals send veteran Chien-Ming Wang to the mound Wednesday in an effort to sweep a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park. The Nationals have won four straight, the most since Davey Johnson became manager, and are back to within three games of .500. The Braves have lost three straight, including the first two of their nine-game road trip. Atlanta is 19-16 in day games, while Washington is 20-23. Washington leads the season series 6-5.

TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, FS South (Atlanta), MASN (Washington)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Brandon Beachy (4-2, 3.27 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Chien-Ming Wang (0-1, 9.00).

Beachy has responded in a positive manner after getting blitzed at Colorado on July 19. In two ensuing starts, he is 1-0 with a 0.67 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings. He threw 7 1/3 scoreless innings against the Marlins in his last outing, the longest of his career. Beachy has made one career start against the Nationals, getting a no-decision after giving up two runs in five innings, with nine strikeouts. Wang said he felt no ill effects from his first start in two years. He threw 60 pitches in his return from shoulder surgery and said he must continue to build his arm strength. Wang went four innings against the Mets and allowed eight hits and six runs, four of them earned. He made two career starts against the Braves, going 0-1 with a 3.46 ERA while pitching for the Yankees.

ABOUT THE BRAVES (63-48): Speedy rookie Jose Constanza has provided some offensive assistance since being recalled from Triple A Gwinnett. Constanza is hitting .400 (8-for-20) and has three straight multi-hit games. Dan Uggla (24 games) and Freddie Freeman (17 games) have the longest active hitting streaks in the majors. Uggla is 32-for-92 (.347) and Freeman is 28-for-69 (.406) during their respective streaks. The Braves are concerned about veteran Derek Lowe, who continues to struggle to pitch deep into games. He went four innings Tuesday and has not pitched seven innings since May 17. His ERA has risen from 3.73 on June 8 to 4.86.

ABOUT THE NATIONALS (53-56): Ryan Zimmerman extended his hitting streak to 11 games. Jayson Werth has hit safely in six straight games and is 9-for-23 during that stretch. Michael Morse has two hits in four consecutive games. John Lannan defeated Atlanta for the eighth time in his career. Only Cole Hammels has more wins against the Braves since 2005. Lannan has also driven in five runs in his last five starts, doubling his career total. The Nationals recalled righthander Collin Balester from Triple A Syracuse. He was 1-1 with a 4.61 ERA in 13 2/3 innings before being shipped out July 4.

FINAL PITCH: Washington’s Stephen Strasburg threw 51 pitches - 32 strikes - in a simulated game in Viera, Fla. Strasburg is recovering from Tommy John surgery and the team is optimistic he may pitch in the major leagues before the end of the season.