Atlanta @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 8, 2014 ) Atlanta 1, Washington 2

If the Atlanta Braves miss the playoffs, nobody will blame the patchwork starting rotation the team deployed after losing Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy to season-ending injuries in spring training. The Braves play the middle contest of a three-game series Tuesday at the National League East-leading Washington Nationals, and while Atlanta leads the major leagues with 100 quality starts, its offense continues to push the club toward the offseason. Atlanta, which trails Pittsburgh by 1 1/2 games for the second NL wild card, has scored 15 runs in its last seven games, going 2-5 in that stretch and collecting more than five hits just twice.

Things are much better in Washington, where the Nationals extended their division lead over the Braves to eight games with Monday’s 2-1 victory. Before the game, Washington pitching coach Steve McCatty told reporters Rafael Soriano looked good in a bullpen session, two days after being demoted from the closer’s role. “His shoulder was down and kept the ball down,” McCatty said of Soriano, who has a 6.98 ERA with a .325 opponents' batting average since the All-Star break and has been replaced temporarily by former closer Drew Storen.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MLBN, SportSouth (Atlanta), MASN2 (Washington)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Ervin Santana (14-7, 3.61 ERA) vs. Nationals RH Jordan Zimmermann (10-5, 2.93)

Santana was 5-5 with a 4.15 ERA and had lost three in a row after falling to the Nationals on June 22, but in his following 13 starts, he is 9-2 with a 3.06 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 85 1/3 innings. He beat Philadelphia on Wednesday, allowing four runs in six frames to win for the fourth time in his last six outings. Santana has made two starts against Washington this season, going 1-1 with a 5.25 ERA.

Zimmermann went 4-0 with a 2.21 ERA in six starts last month, and in his past nine outings has allowed only 18 earned runs with seven walks in 59 innings. He started September with a no-decision against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, allowing two runs on four hits in 6 1/3 frames. Zimmermann, who has eight strikeouts in each of his last three outings, is 0-1 in two starts against the Braves in 2014 but has struck out 15 in 12 innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Storen, who saved 43 games for the Nationals in 2011, earned his second save in two days Monday by striking out the side in the ninth.

2. Atlanta LF Justin Upton and RF Jason Heyward each are 5-for-14 lifetime against Zimmermann.

3. Washington 1B Adam LaRoche is 7-for-16 in his past five games, collecting two hits Monday.

PREDICTION: Nationals 3, Braves 1