Nationals at Braves
May heads into June this weekend and the top two teams in the National League East square off in a four-game series beginning Thursday, when the perennial division champion Washington Nationals head to Atlanta to face the Braves, who have looked every bit the contender through the season’s first two months. The fact that Atlanta’s rebuild appears to have accelerated comes by surprise, but here are the Braves, sitting one-half game behind the Nationals in the division.
Atlanta fell 4-1 to the New York Mets on Wednesday, the lone run coming on a Johan Camargo homer in the seventh - giving the Braves their NL-leading 101st run of the season scored in the seventh inning or later. The Braves authored two walk-off victories against New York in splitting the four-game series, and have won eight games this season in their final at-bat. The Nationals struggled out of the gate, going 11-16 in April while allowing more runs (115) than they scored (111), but Washington has turned things around in May and comes to Atlanta on a six-game winning streak after Wednesday’s 2-0 triumph at Baltimore. Washington is 19-6 this month and has allowed just 2.7 runs per game, while Bryce Harper is hitting just .238 on the season but clubbed his NL-leading 18th homer Wednesday.
TV: 7:35 p.m. ET, MASN2 (Washington), FS Southeast (Atlanta)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Nationals RH Tanner Roark (2-4, 3.17 ERA) vs. Braves LH Sean Newcomb (5-1, 2.75)
Roark beat the Braves on April 2 in his season debut, holding them to just one run on four hits with six strikeouts in seven innings to improve to 7-3 with a 2.77 ERA lifetime against Atlanta. But despite posting a 3.39 ERA and limiting opponents to a .202 average in his next nine starts, Roark is just 1-4 in that stretch. Roark has surrendered only one run in two of his past three starts, giving up five runs on 14 hits with 17 strikeouts and three walks in 21 innings during that span.
Newcomb struggled in his last start Saturday at Boston, giving up three runs with four walks while throwing 88 pitches in just three innings in his first major league appearance near his hometown. The 24-year-old has been outstanding for the Braves this month otherwise, winning his first four starts while posting a 0.36 ERA and a .110 opponents batting average. Newcomb opened his season April 2 with a home loss to the Nationals, allowing five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Atlanta and Washington have split their first six meetings of the season, the Braves outscoring the Nationals 27-24.
2. Braves 1B Freddie Freeman extended his hitting streak to 12 games with two hits Wednesday, and is batting .388 during his streak.
3. Washington expects RHP Ryan Madson (chest muscle strain) to return from the disabled list this weekend, while OF Adam Eaton (left ankle surgery) plans to start a minor-league rehab assignment Friday.