Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals preview (Game 3): Atlanta going for the sweep

Apr 4, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Atlanta Braves relief pitcher

(46) is congratulated by Atlanta Braves right fielder

(22) after recording the final out against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit:

-USA TODAY Sports

After knocking the Washington Nationals around in games one and two, the Atlanta Braves will be trying to sweep the Nats out of their own ballpark behind Alex Wood. Washington will counter with Taylor Jordan.

In Wood’s first start of the season against the Milwaukee Brewers, he tossed 7 innings and allowed just one run to lead the team to their first win of the 2014 season. He struck out five batters, walked three and gave up just five hits.

Jordan has yet to pitch this season for Washington. Last year, he threw 51.2 innings and finished with a 3.66 ERA, 3.49 FIP and 3.80 xFIP. He struck out 5.05 batters per nine innings and walked 1.92 batters per nine. At this point, I’m not really sure what to make of him, and it will be interesting to see how the Atlanta hitters fare against him. He’s put up some big strikeout numbers at several levels in the minors, but so far hasn’t replicated that in the show.

Here’s the lineup that Fredi Gonzalez is going to trot out this afternoon:

It’s the lineup we’ve seen over and over again this season, and I’ve got no problems with it. I’m glad he’s giving the guys some time to show what they can do before tinkering around heavily with it. It might be worthwhile to note that this is the second game in a row that Gattis is not in the lineup.

Check back for a full game recap after the final inning and follow us on twitter (@ATLBeatBlog) for updates and analysis throughout the game.