Sunday, May 27, 2012

Nationals, Braves to battle for NL East supremacy

Even after the acquisitions of Gonzalez and Jackson, the Nationals generally were viewed as being a year away from seriously competing in a much-improved NL East. But thanks to some strong starting pitching and some talented young position players camouflage baseball jerseys, Washington sits atop the division.

There will be a lot of scoreboard watching in Cincinnati and St. Louis this weekend.

Atlanta has slumped recently, though, having lost four consecutive games to the Cincinnati Reds and scoring just 12 runs in its past six games. There is a good chance the Braves’ offense will continue to struggle this weekend when the Nationals start Ross Detwiler (3-3, 3.65 ERA), Strasburg (4-1 cheap mlb baseball jerseys, 2.21) and Gonzalez (6-1, 1.98).

Casual fans know about Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg and outfield phenom Bryce Harper, but they might not know why the Braves are just as good.

During their six-game winning streak, the Reds’ staff has posted a 2.50 ERA custom baseball jersey, and the offense has provided a cushion by scoring 27 runs. This weekend, the Reds will host the Colorado Rockies, who just snapped a six-game losing streak and are 5-16 this month.

The Reds have picked the perfect time to get hot because the St. Louis Cardinals have hit a bit of a rough stretch. Cincinnati has won six consecutive games to take over first place in the NL Central.

“Some kind of way we’ve got to find a way to scrap some runs across,” Bourn told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution after Wednesday’s 2-1 loss at Great American Ball Park.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, will host the Philadelphia Phillies and will face Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay in the four-game set that began Thursday. Since climbing a season-high two games over .500 on May 18, the Phillies have slumped.

Everyone noticed the Washington Nationals’ progression, and many believed they soon would reach contender status.

Unlike in previous seasons when pitching carried Atlanta—not just the glorious 1990s but also the recent past—this team’s staff has been mediocre at best. But the Braves can score runs with anybody in the league. They rank in the top five in the NL in runs, home runs, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. And they have posted those numbers while playing their home games in a pitcher-friendly park.

Because of those moves, the Nationals no longer are on the cusp of success; they are experiencing it. And their series in Atlanta is one of the premier matchups of the weekend.
Nationals at Braves

Martin Prado and Chipper Jones have led the way offensively, but seven of the club’s regulars—Prado, Jones cheap baseball jerseys, Brian McCann, Freddie Freeman, Dan Uggla, Michael Bourn and Jason Heyward—have OPS-plus marks north of 100, the line for average.

With their recent draft picks ripening and after some spending in previous offseasons, the Nationals were considered a team on the brink of real success. In 2013 discount mlb jerseys, this could be a team to be reckoned with. But general manager Mike Rizzo got bold, trading highly touted prospects for one front-line starting pitcher (Gio Gonzalez) in December and offering another (Edwin Jackson) a one-year deal as signing season closed.

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