Washington @ Atlanta preview
Turner Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 31, 2011 ) Washington 1, Atlanta 3
THE STORY: The Atlanta Braves send their best pitcher to the mound Thursday in an effort to win the rubber game of their three-game series against the visiting Washington Nationals. Tim Hudson has won five of his last six starts for Atlanta, which leads St. Louis by 8 1/2 games in the National League wild card race. The Braves and Nationals have split 14 games this season.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, MASN (Washington), SportSouth (Atlanta)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals RH Chien-Ming Wang (2-2, 3.82 ERA) vs. Braves RH Tim Hudson (13-8, 3.10).
Wang received a no-decision in his last two starts, but has a two-game winning streak since dropping his first two starts after being activated from the disabled list. Wang is 0-2 in his career against Atlanta, including a 6-4 loss to the Braves on Aug. 3 in a game in which he hurt his own cause with a throwing error. Wang gave up six runs (two earned), including a three-run homer to Dan Uggla. Hudson is coming off his first subpar start since June 5 when he allowed 11 hits, three walks and four runs in six innings against the Mets. That broke a five-game winning streak for the veteran, who is 5-2 with a 2.26 ERA since the All-Star break. Hudson, whose home ERA is 2.50, is 2-1 with a 2.37 ERA against the Nationals this season and 12-3 with a 1.97 ERA in his career against Washington. He allowed one run in seven innings against the Nationals on July 15, an 11-1 win.
ABOUT THE NATIONALS (63-71): Michael Morse extended his hitting streak to seven games Wednesday with his 24th home run. Ian Desmond has hit safely in nine of 10 games and has gone 16-for-41 (.390) during that stretch. Tom Milone, a left-hander, will make his major-league debut on Saturday. He will replace Jordan Zimmermann, who was shut down after reaching a pre-set innings limit of 160. Milone had a 3.05 ERA at Syracuse this year and was the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year in 2010.
ABOUT THE BRAVES (80-55): Matt Diaz, obtained by the Braves from Pittsburgh on Wednesday morning to add a right-handed bat to the lineup, went 2-for-3 in his return to Atlanta. The Braves are 19-1 when the relief combination of Eric O’Flaherty, Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel has pitched the same game. Kimbrel leads the league in strikeouts by a reliever and set the rookie save record with his 41st on Wednesday night. The Braves finished 17-9 in August.
FINAL PITCH: The Nationals announced that Stephen Strasburg, out for a year with Tommy John surgery, will make his return Tuesday against Los Angeles. He is expected to make three starts for Washington, all at home.