Braves Look To Make Late Rally To Regain Division

Seven games is all that separates the Atlanta Braves from taking the No.1 spot in their division and being the NL East champions for the second year in a row.

The chance of them doing that are small, but their best shot at gaining ground is with the series that they start tonight against their division rivals the Washington Nationals.

The Nationals currently have a firm grip on the NL East and the Braves can begin prying Washington’s fingers from it by sweeping this series.

Mike Minor will take the mound for the Braves.

Minor has bounced back as of late after a rough few month. Minor has recently turned in five consecutive quality starts and has a 2.52 ERA in that time period. He is limiting batters to just .183 hitting.

Minor’s overall ERA is 4.6h, however in his first 17 starts, no counting his last five games, he has a 5.42 ERA.

In his last outing Minor only gave up three earned runs over 7 1/3 innings against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Braves offense failed to get anything done, though, and they lost the game.

Doug Fister will take the ball for the Nationals.

Fister’s 2.66 ERA is a bit deceiving. In his last three starts he has allowed 11 earned runs. In that stretch his ERA is 5.94.

The Brave’s lineup is not at its best, though, and Fister may see this as an opportunity to get back in the swing of things.

The Nationals are the favorites to win this one with a moneyline set at –150. The Braves moneyline is set at +135. The game starts at around 7 p.m.