The stage has been set. The Atlanta Braves magic number is sitting on four and they have a double-header to play in Washington D.C. against the pesky Nationals. Following Monday's tragedy at the U.S. Navy Yard, the Braves and Nationals' game was postponed, but today, both teams hit the field with a purpose and if the Braves sweep the double-header, they'll be celebrating on the road.
However, the Braves have played terrible as of late. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games and 6-8 in the month of September. This is not the way any team would like to hit the playoff stretch as they should be fine-tuning for the 2013 playoffs. The Braves have the division in the bag, but they have not been able to win consistently and the Nationals have been on a roll.
The Nationals are one of the hottest teams in baseball, winning eight of their last 10 and 11-3 in the month of September. If the Braves played September ball like the Nationals, then they would have clinched the division a long time ago. The Nationals have beat up division rivals all month long.
The Braves will send Mike Minor and Freddy Garcia to the mound on Monday. Both guys faced the Miami Marlins last week and had completely different outcomes in their outings. Minor went six innings, allowing four earned runs while surrendering 11 singles. Is Minor fatigue? Hard to say. He is making his 30th start of the year and is nearing 200 innings pitched. For the veteran Garcia, it was a walk in the part against the Marlins. He went six innings, allowing just one earned run on five hits, while walking one and striking out three.
The Braves will face Dan Haren, who pitched a gem against the New York Mets in his last start, allowing just a single and a walk, while striking out eight batters over six innings pitched. In Game 2, the Nationals will send Tanner Roark to the mound. So far in 2013, the righty is undefeated in two starts. Combined with his reliever numbers, Roark is 6-0 with a 1.30 ERA. He pitched four innings of scoreless baseball against the Braves back in August. The Nationals sure hope the 26-year-old can repeat this performance and continue dominating major league hitting.
Game times are at 1:05 p.m. ET and 7:05 p.m. ET. This is must watch baseball, especially if the Braves win the first game.
