Atlanta @ Washington preview
Nationals Park
Last Meeting ( Mar 28, 2010 ) Atlanta 3, Washington 9
Washington Nationals right-hander Livan Hernandez is going to surrender some runs this season. He really will.
It just hasn’t looked that way after watching what the veteran has done in his first four starts. Hernandez (3-1) has allowed only three runs in 31 innings and takes the mound again Tuesday for the opener of a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves.
Hernandez has experly changed speeds and locations. He’s confused and confounded batters without often throwing faster than the mid-80s.
He’ll throw big looping curves in the mid-60s that make his pitches in the 70s look like they’re in the 80s - and hitters just haven’t been able to adjust.
Hernandez came into the season battling for the No. 5 spot in Washington’s rotation after being signed as a free agent in late February. He got that job and has looked more like the No. 1 pitcher. Hernandez wanted to show people that they were wrong for spending most of the winter not signing him - and he’s made his point.
The Nationals might need another big effort from Hernandez as they’ve scored only four runs in the last two games - which have resulted in a pair of losses to the Florida Marlins. The top part of the order - especially leadoff hitter Nyjer Morgan and No. 3 hitter Ryan Zimmerman, who is back from two bouts with hamstring trouble - seems to be waking up.
Atlanta starter Kenshin Kawakami has struggled all season and is looking for a good game.
But Hernandez will be quite a test for an Atlanta batting order that’s been struggling all season long.
The Braves come into the Washington series batting just .238 as a team - even though they just swept the Astros last weekend. But can they keep that up?
Troy Glaus collected five hits over the weekend, as did rookie sensation Jason Heyward. Melky Cabrera’s average is up to .213.
But Brian McCann hasn’t belted a home run in over three weeks, and Chipper Jones has only two hits in his last 27 at-bats. Jones has been battling some hip problems which have slowed him in recent days.
The Braves just haven’t been able to find consistent offense as a team. They got 21 runs while beating the Astros but could score only 17 runs during the nine-game losing streak before that.
Despite all of these early-season problems, the Braves remain in the hunt in the NL East. They’re 11-14 but since the division has been so balanced in the early days, the Braves sit just 3½ games out of the top spot.
A victory in the first game of this new road trip could be big for the Braves, but will Hernandez give up any runs?
He has to at some point - doesn’t he?