Atlanta Braves vs. Washington Nationals preview: Ervin Santana vs. Stephen Strasburg

The Atlanta Braves were unceremoniously blasted during a sweep by the Texas Rangers over the weekend, and because of that, the upcoming series against the Washington Nationals has lost a bit of luster. However, there is still plenty up for grabs, as the Nats can clinch the NL East with a series victory, while the Braves have a faint ray of hope in the Wild Card race. Let’s take a look at the match-up in the opener.

The Pitching Match-up:

Ervin Santana takes the ball for Atlanta in an absolute must-win spot, but the right-hander has been shaky (to be kind) in recent days. Santana allowed five earned runs during a loss to Washington in his last outing, and prior to that, he was beaten around to the tune of four earned in a win over Philadelphia. For the season, Santana has put together a solid 3.76 ERA, but at the same time, he has been an up-and-down pitcher, and hopefully, the “up” side will arrive on Monday evening at Turner Field.

The Nats will counter with Stephen Strasburg, and at this point, it is jarring that he can’t seem to upend the Braves. The powerful right-hander wasn’t “bad” in allowing three earned runs over six innings last week, but it was yet another loss for Strasburg, and his ERA sits at 7.17 across four starts against Atlanta this season. Still, he is one of the most prolific strikeout pitchers in the game today, and if he can overcome his Turner Field woes, Strasburg is capable of icing the offense.

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The Particulars:

Date: September 15, 2014

Start Time: 7:10 pm ET

TV Channel: SportSouth

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: 18-11
• Brad: 11-18

To be honest, Carlos has wrapped this thing up, but we’ll differ in this one. He is taking the Nationals (which appears to be the smart play), while I install faith in Ervin Santana against Strasburg. Best of luck.

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).