Strasburg, Nationals Look to Even Series Against Braves

Jun 14, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg (37) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

After yet another disappointing loss to the Atlanta Braves Thursday, the Washington Nationals look to bounce back in game two of a crucial four-game series against their rivals from the south Friday night. Although the Braves have been playing poorly the last month or so, they have absolutely owned the Nationals this season, leading the season series 6-1.

If the Nationals want to keep their half-game lead in the National League East, they’ll need to change the season-long narrative and beat the Braves on Friday. And given how much the offense has struggled of late, they’ll need a strong performance from starter Stephen Strasburg.

Strasburg looks to get back in the win column Friday after he gave up three runs over 6 2/3 innings pitched in a 4-1 loss against the Cardinals his last time out. Despite his struggles against the Cardinals, Strasburg has been dominant of late. In his last 10 games, the right-hander is 5-3 with a 2.15 ERA with 71 strikeouts over 67 innings of work.

The Braves will counter with left-hander Mike Minor, who has a 4.96 ERA against the Nationals in his career. Minor gave up three runs over five innings of work while striking out 6 batters his last time out against the Angels.

Here are the lineups for tonight’s game:

Nationals

Span CF

Rendon 3B

Werth RF

LaRoche 1B

Zimmerman LF

Desmond SS

Espinosa2B

Lobaton C

Strasburg P

Braves

La Stella 2B

B Upton CF

Freeman 1B

Gattis C

Heyward RF

Johnson 3B

Simmons SS

Schafer LF

Minor P