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Nationals look to finish sweep of Braves

Apr 22, 2009 - 5:23 AM By Jeff Mezydlo Stats Senior Writer

Atlanta (6-8) at Washington (3-10), 7:05 p.m. EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Less than two weeks after Washington was swept by the Atlanta Braves, the Nationals are on the verge of returning the favor.

Attempting to put their rough start behind them, the Nationals look to sweep their home series from the Braves when they conclude the three-game set Wednesday night.

Adam Dunn homered and Austin Kearns drove in a run as Washington (3-10) rallied for a 4-3 win over Atlanta on Tuesday, one night after winning 3-2 in the series opener.

The Nationals dropped 10 of their first 11 games heading into this series, including three straight at Atlanta from April 10-12.

However, thanks to some timely hitting and a couple of positive efforts from its beleaguered bullpen, Washington is in position for payback against their NL East foe.

The Braves (6-8), who fell to 1-4 on their nine-game road strip after blowing a 3-0 lead, have lost seven of eight overall and eight in a row at Washington dating to last season.

Dunn's solo homer, Kearns' RBI triple and Josh Willingham's pinch-hit RBI single contributed to a three-run sixth inning that gave Washington the lead. Dunn is 5-for-16 against Atlanta this season.

Washington relievers tossed three scoreless innings for the second straight day after giving away ninth-inning leads Friday, Saturday and Sunday against Florida. The Nationals' relievers have a 5.66 ERA and have blown four saves in six chances.

"I'm not a big 'What if?' guy," Nationals manager Manny Acta said. "This could be a six-game winning streak right now."

After a solid effort from starter Shairon Martis on Tuesday, Washington turns to opening-day starter John Lannan (0-2, 6.46 ERA) as he tries a fourth time for his first win.

Lannan, though, allowed one run and three hits while striking out eight in 6 1-3 innings of a 3-2, 10-inning loss to Florida on Friday.

"It was good to see him even if he didn't get the win," Acta told the Nationals' official Web site of Lannan, who gave up 10 runs in his first two starts. "It wasn't wasted, because we really wanted to see him come back and pitch good for us."

The left-hander is 2-2 with a 4.30 ERA against the Braves and allowed four runs in six innings of a 5-3 loss at Turner Field on April 11.

The Braves counter with Jair Jurrjens (2-1, 2.04), who looks to bounce back from his first loss despite recording the longest outing of his three starts.

He allowed one run and four hits while striking out seven in 6 2-3 innings of a 3-0 loss at Pittsburgh on Friday.

"He pitched great," manager Bobby Cox said of Jurrjens, who threw a career-high 120 pitches. "His location was good. His pitch count was fine for this time of the year."

The right-hander is 2-1 with a 3.94 ERA in five starts against Washington and allowed three earned runs in 5 1-3 innings of an 8-5 win over the Nationals on April 12.

Casey Kotchman went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Chipper Jones added two hits Tuesday for the Braves, who have scored five runs in their four losses on the trip.

All-Star catcher Brian McCann went 0-for-2 after missing two games with blurred vision that was corrected with a new contact lens in his left eye.

"It turns out I'm more nearsighted in my left eye," said McCann, who is batting .189.

Jones is hitting .368 (7-for-19) against Washington this season and 3-for-10 with two RBIs lifetime versus Lannan.