Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals preview: Teheran vs. Fister

After a dramatic extra-inning victory last night thanks to more Evan Gattis heroics, the Atlanta Braves are looking to take their series against the Washington Nationals, and put a bit more distance between themselves and the Nats in the NL East.

Today’s matchup pits Julio Teheran against Doug Fister. Let’s jump into the numbers:

Fister: Fister has had a solid season for the Nationals so far this season despite striking out less than six batters per nine innings. He’s looking at a 3.08 ERA thanks largely to his ridiculous walk numbers, a low BABIP and a pretty high LOB%. Fister is allowing .91 free passes per nine innings and leaving 82.6 percent of runners on base while opposing batters are hitting just .265 on balls in play against him (compared to a career .296 mark). Throw those numbers together with a 4.28 FIP and it looks like Fister’s been a bit lucky so far.

Teheran: Teheran has easily been Atlanta’s most consistent starting pitcher this year, and is coming into tonight’s game with a team-leading 2.31 ERA and 1.80 BB/9. Teheran’s probably been a bit lucky this season as well, as his BABIP is sitting at .228, which is significantly lower than his career BABIP of .267.

Alright, we’ve taken a brief look at the pitching matchups. Here are the particulars for the game:

Date: June 21, 2014

Start Time: 7:15 p.m. ET

TV Channel: Fox Sports South

Radio: 680 AM/106.7 FM (Local in Atlanta), Full list of Local Affiliates

Live Stream: MLB.tv (Click Here, $)

Be sure to follow us on Twitter (@ATLBeatBlog) for more information (including all of your Atlanta Braves action), and check back after the game for a full recap. Sound off in the comments!