As the old adage goes, "Ride the streak until it ends." Back the Washington Nationals as the go for their ninth consecutive win tonight at the Atlanta Braves.
Break up the Nationals. Washington is the hottest team in baseball winning eight in a row. The Nationals are averaging 7.1 runs, batting .322 and their much maligned bullpen has a 2.31 ERA during their winning streak.
Now the Nationals find themselves big dogs to the Braves despite having their best pitcher, John Lannan, on the mound.
Lannan is 6-3 with a 2.80 ERA since the start of June. He's faced the Braves twice this season and held them to three runs in 15 innings. The Nationals have beaten the Braves in five of their nine games this season.
Both teams were idle on Monday, but the Braves just got finished playing seven games on the West Coast. They may be without Chipper Jones (oblique) and Nate McLouth (hamstring). Both are questionable.
The Braves' brilliant rookie Tommy Hanson gets the starting nod. The league could be catching up to Hanson, who is 2-2 with a 4.35 ERA in his last five starts. In his previous five starts, Hanson had surrendered just three earned runs in 30 innings.
Atlanta is playing well having won 24 of its last 38 games. But the Nationals are loose and playing their best ball. Lannan is very respectable with 15 quality starts this season, while Hanson hasn't been able to maintain his brilliant early pace.
At this big price, the Nationals are worth a shot. This is a one-unit play for me.
Free Pick: Nationals +167