Braves second baseman Martin Prado is tops in baseball with 108 hits.
Though the
Atlanta Braves had their seven-game home winning streak snapped during Sunday's loss to Detroit, they still bring baseball's best home record into Tuesday's middle game of this three-game series against the Washington Nationals.
Atlanta entered this middle game against the Nationals with a league-best 27-8 home ledger, including a sizzling 17-2 mark in its last 19 outings at Turner Field thanks to Monday's 5-0 victory over Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals.
These two clubs met in a three-game series at Washington during the first week in May, with the Nationals winning twice. The ‘over/under' was split 1-1-1.
The Nationals defeated the Braves in the opener as 105 home underdogs, 6-3, and the Braves nipped the Nationals in 10 innings during the middle game as 160 road favorites, 7-6. The rubber game went to the Nationals as 120 home underdogs, 3-2.
Prior to Monday's opener, Washington had relinquished large leads in two of its three weekend games against the Orioles. The Nats led Friday's game 6-0 after four innings before suffering a 7-6 setback. Sunday's finale saw the Nats blow a 5-0 third inning lead en route to a 6-5 loss.
After starting 9-7 on the road through May 13, the Nationals have dropped 20 of their last 24 contests away from home due largely to a staggering 27 unearned runs allowed. The ‘under' is 44-31-2 in Washington's first 77 overall outings, including 8-2 in its last 10.
Nats right fielder Roger Bernadina has hit safely in 19 of 23 games in June.
Washington will send Craig Stammen to the mound in Tuesday's middle game. Stammen was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse in early June, went 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA with the Chiefs. The Nats sent him to the Minors on June 8 to make room for Strasburg. Stammen earned a no-decision in his only career outing against Atlanta.
Atlanta will send Derek Lowe (9-5, 4.42 ERA) to the mound in Tuesday's middle game. The veteran sinkerball pitcher is off his best game of this season when he blanked the White Sox on seven hits through seven innings spanning 101 pitches last Thursday.
Unfortunately, Lowe did not receive any run support during a 2-0 setback as a 105 road favorite. The loss lowered Atlanta's record to 10-6 when Lowe gets the starting assignment.
The 37-year-old right-hander has pitched six innings or more while allowing three runs or less in seven of his last nine starts and has yielded just two home runs during that span.
Though he was not in the lineup on Sunday, Braves third baseman Chipper Jones has hit safely in 10 consecutive games. Second baseman Martin Prado's 108 hits are the most in the Major Leagues.
Real Time Odds
Atlanta is 33-19 versus right-handed starters, 13-11 in one-run games and owned a plus-62 run differential (368-306).
Washington is 13-28 on the road, 24-35 against right-handed starters, 12-16 in one-run games and owned a minus-44 run differential (313-357).
Jason Heyward, the Atlanta outfielder who leads Major League rookies in RBIs and walks, and is tied for the top spot in home runs, is getting an MRI on his sore left thumb. He entered Saturday's game against the Tigers as a defensive substitution and did not play Sunday or Monday.