The Braves can’t hit. What else is new?
In the spirit of keeping it short, sweet, and to the point (plus I have a lot of class work), this pretty much sums up everything happening at the moment. The Braves are about to jump headfirst blindfolded into a series against division leaders and main rival Nationals, a team they frequently punish despite the fact that they’re a much more consistent team.
The best news I can bring you is that the Braves do indeed get to face Stephen Strasburg, which sounds weird at first, until you remember that he carries a 4.62 ERA in 74 career innings vs Atlanta. The Braves also tagged him for 7 runs in 5 innings in their last meet. At this point, it seems like that may not matter, but Strasburg’s kryptonite is definitely the Braves.
Doug Fister may not be as good as the numbers show in 2014, but that doesn’t mean we should forget the 8 shutout innings the 6 foot 8 inch lefty fired against the Braves back in late June. His dip in strikeouts has been graciously picked up by a very solid defense behind him, and Fredi G should be adjusting his lineup accordingly. Likewise for Jordan Zimmermann, who loves the Braves in a way Strasburg wishes he could understand. Zimmerman has given the Nats 12 quality innings against Atlanta this year, with 15 strikeouts to go alongside just 2 walks and 3 runs, and looks just as good for his career. 17 runs in 52.1 innings with a 3.92 K/BB rate. That’s good, right?
For all intents and purposes, the Braves should be set to lose 2 out of these next 3 games, but the Braves have some kind of voodoo over the Nats, making this a very interesting series to look forward to.
Game 1:
7:05 PM EST, Monday, September 8th
Probables: Mike Minor (6-9, 4.65 ERA) vs Doug Fister (12-6, 2.66 ERA)
Game 2:
7:05 PM EST, Tuesday, September 9th
Probables: Ervin Santana (14-7, 3.61 ERA ) vs Jordan Zimmermann (10-5, 2.93 ERA)
Game 3:
4:05 PM EST, Wednesday, September 10th
Probables: Aaron Harang (10-10, 3.87 ERA) vs Stephen Strasburg (11-10, 3.43 ERA)