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Nationals-Braves Preview

Aug 17, 2010 - 4:15 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Washington (51-67) at Atlanta (68-49), 7:10 p.m. EDT

The Atlanta Braves have been in first place in the NL East since May 31, but they have a losing record against the last-place Washington Nationals.

The Braves will try to change that Tuesday night when rookie Mike Minor makes his home debut in the opener of a three-game set.

Atlanta (69-49) is 4-5 against Washington (51-67) thanks in part to the struggles of its RBI leaders. Troy Glaus is 4 for 32 with two of his team-high 69 RBIs against the Nationals while Brian McCann is 6 for 27 with two of his 63 RBIs.

Glaus is 2 for 14 against Nationals starter Scott Olsen (3-4, 5.11 ERA) while McCann is 6 for 23, but the focus on the mound Tuesday will be on Minor (0-0, 4.50).

Minor made his major league debut last Monday at Houston and allowed four runs in six innings in a 10-4 loss. The 22-year-old left-hander - the seventh overall pick in the 2009 draft - was starting in place of Kris Medlen, who is on the disabled list with a right elbow injury.

"There was excitement, nerves, but not too much," Minor said. "I felt pretty comfortable out there. I know there are good guys out there and a really good guy behind the plate. After that first pitch, I was good."

Minor went 4-1 with a 1.89 ERA in six starts with Triple-A Gwinnett before being called up.

Atlanta increased its lead to 2 1/2 games in the division over Philadelphia with a dramatic victory Monday. Melky Cabrera's two-run single off Octavio Dotel with the bases loaded in the ninth inning capped a three-run rally in a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"We don't give up," shortstop Alex Gonzalez said. "We've got a good offense. All those guys took great at-bats."

Rookie Jason Heyward returned after missing a game with swelling in his right knee. Heyward went 0 for 3 to drop to 6 for 46 over his last 13 games.

The Braves lost both of Olsen's starts against them this year, with the left-hander going 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA. Those contests were at Nationals Park, and Olsen is 1-3 with a 7.15 ERA in seven career outings at Turner Field.

Olsen turned in his shortest outing since July 8, 2007, on Wednesday by allowing seven runs over 1 2-3 innings in a 9-5 home loss to Florida.

"I made terrible pitches. You make bad pitches, they hit 'em. That's what happened," Olsen said.

The Nationals took two of three at home over the weekend from Arizona, winning 5-3 on Sunday after entering the series with five straight losses.

"We needed to win a series," outfielder Josh Willingham told the Nationals' official website. "It has been a while. So we hope to keep that going in Atlanta."

Shortstop Ian Desmond is 9 for 26 with three homers and six RBIs against the Braves this year. Desmond leads the majors with 27 errors.