After taking two of three from the Philadelphia Phillies over the weekend, the Atlanta Braves travel to the Washington Nationals for an important three-game set starting Monday.
This current road trip (at Philadelphia and at Washington) was widely considered the most crucial one thus far in the Atlanta Braves season.
Taking two of three from the Phillies was a great start, but getting two of three in Washington would be the cherry on the top.
The Braves are 4-5 against the Nationals this season, with the most recent series, two weeks ago, being a split of four games.
The Nationals are coming off a series loss to the Dodgers, who threw their three best starting pitchers. Before that series, the Nats took three of four from the struggling Rockies.
From an offensive standpoint, the Nationals are middle of the road in home runs (19th), slugging (15th) and OPS (12th).
However, their highly regarded starting rotation is outstanding, as the unit is third in ERA and fourth in batting average against.
The bullpen is a different story, though.
They are last in nearly every major category.
Outside of Sean Doolittle, who has 23 saves with a 2.72 ERA, the next lowest ERA is Wander Suero at 4.82.
The pitching matchups are okay for the Braves. On one hand, it appears Max Scherzer will miss his schedule start due to a minor back injury, but on the other, Patrick Corbin goes Monday, while Anibal Sanchez goes Wednesday.
The Braves will send their three best starters, though, so it should be a fun series and perhaps a little tease of what we might expect in October.
Let’s take a look at the pitching matchups.