The Atlanta Braves have shocked the baseball world as they face the Washington Nationals with a chance to sweep the first series and complete an eight-game winning streak Sunday afternoon in Nationals Park at 1:35 p.m. ET. Check out the live stream online available with MLB.TV as the Braves seek their dominance in the N.L. East. Here are the batting lineups and pitching matchups of this game.
The pitching matchup for this game. On the hill and trying to save face for the Nationals will be Gio Gonzalez, the left-handed dominant pitcher who proved capable of carrying the team in 2012. So far this season, he's 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA. No doubt he might give the Braves a hard time, however, the lefty is 2-2 with a 4.57 ERA in his career versus Atlanta. For the Braves, Paul Maholm, also a lefty, takes the hill with a chance to win his third game of the season. So far, Maholm is flashing a perfect 0.00 ERA not allowing a run in his first two starts of the year.
So far in the first two games of the series, the scores have been very close. The Braves won Game 1 as they were able to rally in the top of the ninth scoring two runs off the Nationals struggling bullpen. Then Ramiro Pena gave them the lead with a two-run blast in the top of the 10th giving them the 6-4 lead. Then on Saturday, Evan Gattis hit a two-run bomb to left field that gave the Braves an early 2-0 lead, which was pretty much what the Braves' pitching staff needed as Tim Hudson shutdown the Nationals. Hudson only allowed one run on a solo shot to Danny Espinosa. The Braves bullpen, then came in to shut down the final two innings with Eric O'Flaherty getting the hold and Craig Kimbrel closing it out for the 3-1 victory.
It will be interesting to see the lineup manager Fredi Gonzalez places on the field with a lefty on the mound. As for the Nationals, don't expect much to change as their lineup looks consistent, though they have struggled after the second inning of the first game against Braves pitching.
Click here for the live streaming action between the Braves and Nationals. Gameday will allow you, in case you rather not pay for the live stream, to follow the game as they give you a play-by-play of the action from Nationals Park.
