Game Preview: Atlanta Braves vs. Washington Nationals (Game 3)

Thursday, July 29 – 12:35 (SportSouth)
Atlanta Braves (58-42) vs. Washington Nationals (43-58)

Derek Lowe
(4.48 ERA, 4.08 xFIP, 3.61 BB/9, 5.85 K/9, 7.8 SwStr%, 57.9 GB%)
(Career vs. WAS: 19 G, 13 GS, 6-5, 3.86 ERA, 31 BB, 65 K)
vs.
Scott Olsen
(3.77 ERA, 4.06 xFIP, 2.93 BB/9, 6.7 K/9, 9.4 SwStr%)
(Career vs. ATL: 14 G, 13 GS, 3-5, 5.88 ERA, 33 BB, 61 K)

Braves vs. Olsen:
Chipper Jones: 13-28, 3 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 3 BB, 5 K
Matt Diaz: 11-28, 4 2B, 3 HR, 5 RBI, BB, 8 K
Brian McCann: 6-23, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K
Troy Glaus: 2-12, 2B, HR, RBI, BB, K
Martin Prado: 5-12, 3 2B, RBI, BB

Nationals vs. Lowe:
Ryan Zimmerman: 10-36, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 10 K
Cristian Guzman: 12-32, 2B, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K
Adam Kennedy: 13-32, 2 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, 4 BB, 5 K
Adam Dunn: 5-28, 2 2B, RBI, 2 BB, 8 K
Ivan Rodriguez: 7-28, 2 2B, 2 RBI, BB, 8 K
Josh Willingham: 5-25, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 3 BB, 2 K
Nyjer Morgan: 6-19, 2B, RBI
Ian Desmond: 2-4, 3B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB

What to Look For:
A day game, apparently. I completely forgot the game would be this early today, so excuse the tardiness. Lowe continues to putter around with five inning outings, including doing so in his last start against the Nationals this season, allowing four runs in 5.2 innings. He has pretty good numbers against them in his career but has trouble holding the bigger hitters in the lineup down. The Braves will see Olsen, who is making his first start since coming off the disabled list. He was last seen May 21 and made a start against the Braves May 6, taking a no-hitter deep into the game and allowing just two hits and one earned run in 7.1 innings. It’s odd considering his career numbers against the Braves, but it shows how weak they are against lefties at times. It’s a big game for the Braves as they try to avoid back-to-back series losses.