Atlanta @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( May 4, 2010 ) Atlanta 3, Washington 6

Luis Atilano might be a pitcher, but the Washington Nationals want him to go 3-for-3.

Atilano won his first two outings since coming up to the Nationals, and the right-hander will go for a third consecutive victory Wednesday when he faces against the Atlanta Braves in the second of a three-game series.

The fiery, emotional 24-year-old has looked good in his first two starts since replacing injured right-hander Jason Marquis.

Atilano held the Los Angeles Dodgers to one run in six innings as Washington pulled out a 5-1 victory on April 23. He then wormed his way out of several jams and held the Cubs to two runs in six innings in a 3-2 victory last Wednesday.

The toughest thing he’s had to deal with so far is getting a pie in the face on live TV after his first victory. But Atilano handled that without a problem as well, laughing it off and talking about how he had waited a long time for his major league debut and nothing would ruin his night.

Atilano (2-0, 2.25 ERA) is not a power pitcher but hasn’t been afraid to pitch to contact. In fact, that might be his strong point because Atilano won’t strike out many. But the right-hander isn’t going to walk many either.

Atlanta’s starter is right-hander Tommy Hanson, and the 23-year old has been a little better.

Hanson is 2-2 this season with an even more impressive 2.17 ERA. The powerful Hanson is quickly developing into one of the game’s better young pitchers and could move into baseball’s elite soon.

The Braves expect big things from him, especially after a rookie season when he won 11 games and averaged nearly a strikeout per inning.

The best thing Hanson can do to help himself now is to cut down on his pitch count. He strikes out a lot of hitters but hadn’t made it past the sixth inning until his last start against the Houston Astros.

But the Braves also need some better hitting to support Hanson and their bullpen. The hitting woes that have plagued them in the first month of the season showed up again in Monday’s 6-3 loss to the Nationals - they went just 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base.

Those numbers will cause many good starting pitching efforts to go to waste.