Final
Nationals-Braves Preview
Aug 17, 2010 - 4:15 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior WriterWashington (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.
- Braves 10, Nationals 2 - FINAL
WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Gonzalez 2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .278
I Desmond ss 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 .266
R Zimmerman 3b 4 0 1 0 0 3 1 .302
A Dunn 1b 4 0 0 0 0 3 2 .269
I Rodriguez c 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .272
W Nieves c 3 1 3 1 0 0 0 .207
M Mor
Aug 17 10:15 PM - NL
AT ATLANTA - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY TROY GLAUS SCORED MARTIN PRADO
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, T GLAUS ON SECOND, E HINSKE ON THIRD, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: WASHINGTON 2
ATLANTA 10 BOTTOM,8TH
DUE UP FOR ATLANTA: A GONZALEZ (.243, 0-FOR-4)
Nationals 2, Braves 10 Bot 8, 0 OutsAug 17 10:06 PM - NL
AT ATLANTA - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY ERIC HINSKE SCORED JASON HEYWARD
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, E HINSKE ON FIRST, M PRADO ON THIRD, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: WASHINGTON 2
ATLANTA 9 BOTTOM,8TH
DUE UP FOR ATLANTA: T GLAUS (.237, 0-FOR-4)
Nationals 2, Braves 9 Bot 8, 0 OutsAug 17 10:04 PM - NL
AT ATLANTA - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY MELKY CABRERA SCORED BROOKS CONRAD AND MARTIN
PRADO
SITUATION: 4 RUNS IN, M CABRERA ON SECOND, T GLAUS ON THIRD, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: WASHINGTON 2
ATLANTA 8 BOTTOM,7TH
DUE UP FOR ATLANTA: D ROSS (.286, 0-FOR-3)
Nationals 2, Braves 8 Bot 7, 0 OutsAug 17 9:42 PM - NL
AT ATLANTA - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY MARTIN PRADO SCORED OMAR INFANTE
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, M PRADO ON FIRST, J HEYWARD ON SECOND, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: WASHINGTON 2
ATLANTA 6 BOTTOM,7TH
DUE UP FOR ATLANTA: K FARNSWORTH (-, 0 HR, 0 RBI)
Nationals 2, Braves 6 Bot 7, 0 OutsAug 17 9:31 PM - NL
AT ATLANTA - SCORING UPDATE
ERROR BY ADAM DUNN ALLOWED RICK ANKIEL TO SCORE.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, J HEYWARD ON FIRST, O INFANTE ON SECOND, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: WASHINGTON 2
ATLANTA 5 BOTTOM,7TH
DUE UP FOR ATLANTA: M PRADO (.315, 1-FOR-3, RBI)
Nationals 2, Braves 5 Bot 7, 0 OutsAug 17 9:31 PM - NL
AT ATLANTA - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY MATT DIAZ SCORED MARTIN PRADO AND JASON HEYWARD
SITUATION: 4 RUNS IN, M DIAZ ON SECOND, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: WASHINGTON 2
ATLANTA 4 BOTTOM,6TH
DUE UP FOR ATLANTA: T GLAUS (.239, 0-FOR-2)
Nationals 2, Braves 4 Bot 6, 0 OutsAug 17 9:02 PM - NL
AT ATLANTA - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY MARTIN PRADO SCORED OMAR INFANTE
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, M PRADO ON SECOND, J HEYWARD ON THIRD, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: WASHINGTON 2
ATLANTA 2 BOTTOM,6TH
DUE UP FOR ATLANTA: M DIAZ (.231, 0-FOR-1, HBP)
Nationals 2, Braves 2 Bot 6, 0 OutsAug 17 9:00 PM - NL
AT ATLANTA - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY DIORY HERNANDEZ (1) TO LEFT CENTER WITH 0
OUT IN THE 6TH OFF SCOTT OLSEN.
CURRENT SCORE: WASHINGTON 2, ATLANTA 1
DUE UP FOR ATLANTA: O INFANTE (.340, 1-FOR-2)
Nationals 2, Braves 1 Bot 6, 0 OutsAug 17 8:49 PM - NL
AT ATLANTA - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY MICHAEL MORSE SCORED WIL NIEVES
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, M MORSE ON SECOND, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: WASHINGTON 2
ATLANTA 0 TOP,6TH
DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: K MENCH (.143, 0-FOR-2)
Nationals 2, Braves 0 Top 6, 0 OutsAug 17 8:43 PM - NL
AT ATLANTA - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY WIL NIEVES SCORED IAN DESMOND
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, W NIEVES ON SECOND, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: WASHINGTON 1
ATLANTA 0 TOP,6TH
DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: M MORSE (.274, 0-FOR-1, BB)
Nationals 1, Braves 0 Top 6, 0 OutsAug 17 8:41 PM
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