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Nats continue set vs. Braves with chance to clinch NL East

Sep 16, 2014 - 4:14 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Washington Nationals try to secure their second National League East title in three years on Tuesday when they continue a three-game series with the free-falling Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.

Washington lowered its magic number to two on Monday, as Stephen Strasburg overcame some bad history in Atlanta with seven scoreless innings and the Nationals pulled out a 4-2 victory.

Strasburg (12-11) came into the contest with an ugly 6.99 ERA in seven career road starts against the Braves, but the hard-throwing righty surrendered just five hits, did not walk a batter and struck out seven.

"He's a pretty good pitcher," Braves third baseman Chris Johnson said of Strasburg. "He had some good stuff tonight."

Strasburg also added an RBI single while Wilson Ramos hit a solo homer for the Nationals, who have been in sole possession of first place since July 21 .

Prior to winning the NL East in 2012, the franchise's only playoff appearance came in the strike-shortened 1981 season as the Montreal Expos.

"It's not just one win (Tuesday)," said Strasburg. "It might be to go to the playoffs, but that's not our ultimate goal. We've got to keep playing good baseball."

On the opposite end of the Strasburg's gem was Ervin Santana (14-9), who allowed two runs on just three hits and two walks over six quality frames.

Atlanta has dropped seven of its last eight games, including getting swept by the MLB-worst Texas Rangers over the weekend, and sits 4 1/2 games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates for the final wild card spot in the NL.

"We're all collectively - and I'm talking about our coaches to our front office staff to our players, to our fans - we want to win," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Anything short of us getting in some kind of playoff game or play-in game, it's not acceptable."

Tanner Roark will get the first crack to secure the title for the Nationals. Roark was 0-3 in four starts until defeating the New York Mets on the road in a 6-2 win on Thursday. He is 13-10 with a 2.96 earned run average.

Roark, who has a 7-4 record in 15 road assignments, hopes to stay unbeaten in his career against the Braves, as he sports a 2-0 mark and 2.10 ERA in six meetings (4 starts).

Aaron Harang hasn't won back-to-back starts since a four-game winning streak from June 24-July 10 and gets the start Tuesday for the Braves. He ended a personal three-game slide in last Wednesday's 6-2 win at Washington, allowing just one unearned run in seven innings.

Harang gave up six runs in his previous start on Sept. 5 and had allowed three or more runs over his past five outings. The veteran right-hander is 3-4 with a 3.10 ERA in 12 career starts against the Nationals and 11-10 overall with a 3.72 ERA. He is 4-5 in 15 home starts this season.

Despite Monday's loss, the Braves have a 10-7 edge over the Nationals this season, going 5-2 at Turner Field.