The top two teams in the NL East will clash on Friday night, when the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves battle from SunTrust Park. Last night, Washington managed just five hits during a 4-2 defeat. Anthony Rendon doubled and drove in both runs for the Nationals, who trail the Braves by a half-game for first place.
Twenty-nine year old righty Stephen Strasburg (6-4 3.13 ERA) will make his 12th start of the season for the Nationals. Last time out, Strasburg struck out eight batters over five scoreless frames during a 5-2 victory at Miami.
The Atlanta Braves have won 33 of their first 56 games and have three of the top five players in the National League batting average race. On Thursday, SP Sean Newcomb allowed four hits and two runs over seven frames to notch his sixth straight win. Arodys Vizcaino struck out the side in the ninth inning to slam the door on his 10th save.
Hard-throwing righty Mike Foltynewicz (4-3 2.55 ERA) has pitched well for the Braves so far this season. In his last start, Foltynewicz allowed just three hits and one run over seven innings during a 7-1 victory at Boston.
