Washington @ Atlanta preview
Turner Field
Last Meeting ( Jun 29, 2010 ) Washington 7, Atlanta 2
The first-place team in the National League East is about to get a little bit stronger.
Jair Jurrjens will make his return to the Atlanta Braves rotation when they close out a three-game series against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.
Already one of the top pitching staffs in the game with a 3.75 team ERA, the Braves have been without Jurrjens since the end of April due to a strained left hamstring. The 24-year-old right-hander was the team leader with a 2.60 ERA in his 2009 breakout campaign and finished with a 14-10 record in a career-high 215 innings.
Expected to join with veterans Tim Hudson and Derek Lowe and youngster Tommy Hanson in one of the most potent rotations in the game, Jurrjens looked like last season’s innings increase had taken its toll on his right arm to begin 2010.
The Curacao native allowed eight runs in his second start of the seasons and three each in his next two before bowing out after one inning and three earned runs at St. Louis on April 29, hitting the DL the next day. He had struck out 15 and walked 11 in 24 total innings.
The extended break could be just the thing to get Jurrjens back on track, as the leg injury gave him nearly two extra months to rest his arm. It also allows Atlanta to strengthen its relief corps by dropping Kris Medlen or Kenshin Kawakami to the bullpen.
Jurrjens will not be on a pitch count today, though he expects to go to around 90 or 100 pitches before handing the ball off. The Nationals should be a good team against which to ease him back into the rotation, as Jurrjens owns a 2-1 career record with a 2.98 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in seven starts against the division rivals.
He will be taking on a lineup that snapped a five-game skid Tuesday by pounding Atlanta in a 7-2 win. Ryan Zimmeran doubled in a pair of runs and Josh Willingham hit a two-run homer for the Nationals, who got a 4-for-4 night from shortstop Alberto Gonzalez.
The Braves took the opener of the series 5-0 on Monday, getting the better of Nationals phenom Stephen Strasburg.
Washington will attempt to coax a win out of J.D. Martin in the series finale. The 27-year-old right-hander is 0-3 this season despite having allowed two earned runs or less in four of his five outings. Martin lasted just 4 1/3 innings at Baltimore last Friday, allowing three runs - none earned - and six hits in a no decision.
Martin faced the Braves once in his 2009 rookie campaign, yielding one run on six hits in six innings while striking out two and walking none. He did not factor in the decision.