Washington @ Atlanta preview
Turner Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 13, 2010 ) Washington 0, Atlanta 4
The Atlanta Braves need every win they can get to keep pace in a pair of tight National League playoff races.
Luckily for the Braves, they face a pitcher they've throttled over the years when they continue their three-game series with the Washington Nationals on Tuesday at Turner Field.
The Braves hope their domination against Nationals pitcher Livan Hernandez continues as they begin the day one game behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East and 1 1/2 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants in the race for the wild card.
Hernandez is 6-16 with a 5.09 ERA in 31 appearances (30 starts) against the Braves. The 16 losses are the most the 35-year-old right-hander has suffered against any team.
Three of those rare wins have come in the past two seasons, though, and Hernandez is 1-1 with a 3.24 ERA in three starts against Atlanta this year.
For all his historical trouble with the Braves, Hernandez has fared well against most of Atlanta's current stars. Martin Prado has been the exception, however, as the All-Star infielder is 9-for-16 (.563) against him.
Hernandez (9-11, 3.82 ERA) has lost his last two starts and four of his last five decisions. Now he gets a Braves team that boasts a 52-21 home record, the best in the majors. Atlanta hasn't lost a series at Turner Field since dropping two of three to Philadelphia from April 20-22, and it can extend that streak again with a win on Tuesday.
In hopes of doing exactly that, the Braves send 24-year-old right-hander Jair Jurrjens to the mound.
Jurrjens (7-5, 4.53 ERA) is coming off his worst outing of the year, having allowed seven runs and 10 hits over 3 2/3 innings in an 11-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday. The loss ended Jurrjens' streak of winning four consecutive decisions and marked his first loss at Turner Field since Sept. 5 of last year.
Facing the slumping Nationals could be just the thing to get him back to his winning ways.
Jurrjens defeated the Nationals on June 30, holding them to one run over five innings in his return from a two-month stint on the disabled list. He is 3-1 with a 2.86 ERA in eight career starts against Washington.
Washington has lost six straight to match its season-long losing streak. The Nationals also lost six in a row from June 15-20.
During the six-game skid, the Nationals have hit .186 as a team and scored a total of 10 runs. Braves starter Derek Lowe and closer Billy Wagner combined to strike out 15 in a six-hit shutout in Monday's opener.
Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman has been the only hot Nationals hitter. He has three consecutive multi-hit games.