The Atlanta Braves are streaking and the Washington Nationals are not. The Braves hold a 14.5-game lead in the division, sitting comfortably in first place and will be looking to extend their lead and 12-game winning streak. They will try for the sweep at Nationals Park Wednesday evening. Check out the live stream available online.
Kris Medlen will get the ball for Atlanta as he will look to continue his winning ways on the mound. Medlen has had a tough 2013 season. He's 8-10, but has won his last two starts against the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies. Though he's surrendered six earned runs in 12 innings pitched in those two starts, he recorded 12 strikeouts while only walking two batters.
He will be opposed by the Nationals' ace in 2013, Jordan Zimmerman. With a 13-6 record and 3.06 ERA, the Nationals have thrived with Zimmermand on the hill. He bounced back last Friday, defeating the Milwaukee Brewers after pitching six innings of scoreless ball. In his previous starts, Zimmerman did not look too well, surrendering 12 earned runs in 8.2 innings pitched against the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets.
The Nationals and Braves will play their first game following a brief altercation between Julio Teheran and slugger Bryce Harper. After Harper smacked a solo home run deep into center field, Teheran plunked their Nationals' right fielder, causing both benches to clear. Luckily, there was no physical action between both teams as things quickly mellowed down.
It will be interesting to see if things escalate once again today as Nationals' manager, Davey Johnson will place this incident in the back of his head. "The way you retaliate, and guys get pumped up and Ryan Zimmerman almost did it, he almost hit one out," Johnson replied. "That's the way you fire back. You get up and you get a big hit and you bury him. It's important to understand, too, that nothing you do right then is going to be any good other than strike back offensively and beat 'em. But it's planted in our minds that that was done on purpose and there are consequences."
Click here for the Braves vs. Nationals live stream. If you don't want to pay, you can at least follow the GameDay.
