The Washington Nationals (27-27) are headed to Turner Field where they will face the Atlanta Braves (32-21), who lead the National League East with a 5.5 game lead over Washington. The game is set to start at 7:05 p.m. and can be live streamed free by clicking this link, or at MLB.com with a subscription. Nationals fans can hear the D.C. broadcast on 106.7 The Fan and Braves fans can listen in on 93.7 FM.
The Nationals have been one of the bigger disappointments in baseball thus far, and although a .500 record is nothing to hang heads about, they entered 2013 as one of the biggest favorites to win the World Series.
Injuries to Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth have hurt the effectiveness of the lineup, which is third-worst in the NL in hits (408), fourth-worst in runs scored (190), next to last in doubles (78), and has struck out more than all but three other NL teams.
Their loaded pitching staff, led by tonight's starter Stephen Strasburg (3-5, 2.49 ERA) has not been bad, but it also has not lived up to a lot of the preseason hype. Strasburg's had some bad luck, winning only three games despite stellar peripheral statistics, but Gio Gonzalez and Dan Haren have underwhelmed.
Meanwhile, Atlanta has gotten solid pitching and incredible offensive output from Justin Upton and catcher/outfielder Evan Gattis. Despite cooling off significantly in May, Justin Upton's seasons stats read .259, 14 home runs, 29 RBI. Gattis, who has struggled to find playing time after regular catcher Brian McCann returned from injury, has stayed hot. For the year Gattis is hitting .285 with 12 home runs and 32 RBI.
Julio Teheran (3-1, 3.67 ERA) will oppose Strasburg. While not in Strasburg's stratosphere in terms of hype, Teheran has long been one of the treasures in Atlanta's farm system. In 2013, he's finally getting an extended opportunity to prove himself.
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