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Nationals-Braves Preview

Aug 10, 2009 - 6:08 PM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Washington (40-72) at Atlanta (58-54), 7:10 p.m. EDT

The Atlanta Braves return home from a stellar road trip eyeing a return to contention in the NL East, but suddenly a series with the division's last-place team doesn't look all that inviting.

The Washington Nationals will be looking for a ninth straight victory as they open a two-game series in Atlanta on Tuesday with standout left-hander John Lannan on the mound to match up with Braves rookie Tommy Hanson for the second time.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Atlanta's 24-14 stretch since June 28 was the club's 5-2 West Coast trip last week, which closed with three straight victories over NL-leading Los Angeles.

Braves pitchers held the Dodgers to three total runs in the final two games, including an 8-2 victory Sunday that pulled Atlanta (58-54) within 4 1/2 games of first-place Philadelphia.

"We've never lost faith all year," right fielder Matt Diaz said. "We haven't really been scoreboard watching, but we know that if we take care of business and finish enough games above .500, we have a great shot to make the playoffs. And with our pitching staff, we think we can make that happen."

The Nationals (40-72) have long since given up on reaching the postseason, but they're shockingly even hotter than Atlanta. Their eight-game winning streak is the second-longest since moving to Washington, behind a 10-game run from June 2-12, 2005.

A woeful bullpen has plagued Washington for much of 2009, but relievers have a 2.31 ERA during the winning streak. The Nationals have also gotten a major boost from a lineup averaging 7.1 runs over that span.

Ryan Zimmerman has led that charge and is hitting .479 during a 13-game hitting streak with seven homers and 15 RBIs. The third baseman has had at least one hit in all nine games against the Braves this year.

He recorded three hits and scored three runs in Sunday's 9-2 win over Arizona to complete the sweep.

"I knew we were capable of playing like this," outfielder Adam Dunn said. "I wish we would have played this loose and had fun early in the year, and we wouldn't be how many games back."

They've been getting quality efforts from Lannan (8-8, 3.39) nearly all season, and he's 6-3 with a 2.80 ERA since the beginning of June. He beat Florida on Wednesday, allowing two runs in six innings of a 5-4 win.

"Our attitude's changed, and it's a good sign," Lannan said. "We're finishing this year strong. We know we can compete."

Lannan has dominated Atlanta this year, throwing seven shutout innings in Washington's 1-0 loss on April 22 before allowing three runs in eight innings of a 5-3 win on July 4.

Hanson (6-2, 3.22) gave up one run and three hits in seven innings of that game before the Braves' bullpen crumbled. A home run by Dunn was Washington's only run off Hanson.

The right-hander hasn't been quite as sharp over the past month, going 2-2 with a 4.35 ERA in his last five starts, but he's allowed two runs in six innings of a 6-2 victory Wednesday at San Diego.

"Tommy wasn't his best today, and he only gave up two runs," manager Bobby Cox told the Braves' official Web site.

The Braves have dropped two of three in each of their last two series against the Nationals after going 6-12 against them last year. Washington was swept in three games in its last visit to Turner Field from April 10-12.