Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals preview: Mike Minor vs. Doug Fister
UPDATE: The Braves will be without Evan Gattis for Monday’s game, as he has been diagnosed with Strep Throat.
Catcher Evan Gattis has been diagnosed with strep throat and is out of tonight's lineup.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 8, 2014
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After a disappointing series against the Miami Marlins this weekend, that ended with yet another shutout yesterday, the Atlanta Braves are set to start an extremely important series with the Washington Nationals tonight.
The Braves are seven games out of the division lead at the moment, but that could change drastically depending on what happens over the next three days. Hopefully, that change makes the lead smaller rather than larger.
The Pitching Match-up:
Mike Minor is going to be the man on the mound for the Braves in this one, and he’s been extremely solid over his past few outings. On the season, he’s still looking at a 4.65 ERA, but he’s allowed no more than three earned runs in his previous five starts while pitching at least seven innings in four of those five. He’s clearly made some adjustments and is throwing the ball much closer to his true talent level, and gives the Braves as good a chance as any to pick up a win.
Doug Fister will be the starter for the Nats in this one, and is 12-6 on the season after posting a 2.66 ERA with decent peripherals (3.96 FIP, 3.81 xFIP and a 4.56 K/BB ratio). But, Fister has struggled recently and gone winless in his previous four starts in addition to giving up five home runs in those outings.
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The Particulars:
Date: September 8, 2014
Start Time: 7:05 pm ET
TV Channel: SportSouth (Local), MLB Network
Radio: 680 AM/106.7 FM (Local in Atlanta), Full list of Local Affiliates
Live Stream: MLB.tv (Click Here, $)
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The Predictions:
Before we offer our predictions for today, here’s a look at our records to this point:
- Carlos: 15-10
- Brad: 11-14
I continue to dominate Brad in this competition, but he’s making up ground of late and today that could continue as Brad and I are once again taking different sides. He’s siding with Mike Minor (he’s been with Minor through thick and thin this entire season) while I have no confidence at all in this offense and will side with the Nationals… even though it hurts me so much to say that.
Please feel free to sound off in the comments with your predictions for the game and feel free to rub it in our faces when you beat us on twitter (@ATLBeatBlog).