Atlanta @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 15, 2010 ) Washington 4, Atlanta 2

The division now out of reach, the Atlanta Braves suddenly find themselves in a three-way scramble for the National League wild card.

The Braves will be looking to maintain their slim lead when they open a three-game series against the lowly Washington Nationals on Friday.

Atlanta owned a three-game lead in the NL East at the start of the month and was tied on Sept. 11, but has watched the Philadelphia Phillies pull further and further away over the last week. The Phillies gained three whole games on the Braves earlier in the week by sweeping a three-game, head-to-head series as they displayed the pitching that will make them so fearful in October.

Atlanta could do little against Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt, managing a total of four runs in the three games. In fact, the offense has been dismal for a while now, averaging fewer than three runs per game over the last 10.

The sluggish play has not only let Philadelphia get away but has allowed the NL West trio of San Diego, San Francisco and Colorado back into the wild card mix, with the Padres now just one-half game out in second place and the Rockies 3 1/2 games back. The Giants lead the Padres by one-half game in the West.

The remaining schedule may include six home games, but the Nationals won’t be pushovers this weekend, having taken two of three from the Braves in Atlanta last week. The Florida Marlins are up next and they have a history of knocking teams off the top of the NL East in the last weeks of the season. The Braves close out the regular season with three more against the Phillies.

Tim Hudson will try to get things started on the right track when he takes the mound for Atlanta on Friday. The veteran right-hander snapped a string of sub-par outings with a strong effort against the New York Mets last weekend, striking out seven while allowing two runs on six hits in seven innings to pick up the win.

Three straight losses in his previous three outings had given the impression that Hudson, who missed most of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, may have been hitting a wall.

He earned a win the last time he faced Washington, allowing two runs on eight hits in seven innings on August 18. He has never had trouble with the Nationals in his career, owning a 10-1 record with a 1.55 ERA against them in 17 starts.

Washington will counter with youngster Jordan Zimmermann. A Tommy John survivor himself, the 24-year-old right-hander has gotten knocked around in his last two outings, allowing 10 runs - nine earned - and 14 hits in six total innings while suffering back-to-back losses.

Zimmermann faced the Braves in his first major league start on April 20, 2009, and earned a win while holding them to two runs on six hits in six innings.