Atlanta Braves-Washington Nationals Series Preview (4/12-4/14)

Pitching Probables:
Friday - Julio Teheran (ATL) 0-0, 9.00 ERA vs. Ross Detwiler (WSH) 0-0, 0.00 ERA
Saturday - Tim Hudson (ATL) 1-0, 3.27 ERA vs. Stephen Strasburg (WSH) 1-1, 4.38 ERA
Sunday - Paul Maholm (ATL) 2-0, 0.00 ERA vs. Gio Gonzalez (WSH) 1-0, 0.82 ERA

Preview: Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves' 8-1 record is their best to start a season since 1994 (13-1). Braves have done it with the scorching hot bats of Justin Upton and Evan Gattis in the lineup. The one question that many experts had was how the rotation would hold up. So far, the Braves rotation has answered that question with a 6-1 record with an ERA of 2.01 which is good for 2nd in the MLB behind the Dodgers. The bullpen as expected, has been brilliant posting a gaudy 1.65 ERA which is the best in baseball. Pitching has been absolutely outstanding, now if some key guys like BJ Upton, Jason Heyward, and Dan Uggla can get going in the lineup, this team will be a force to be reckoned with in the MLB. The Braves are good, but when Freddie Freeman, Brian McCann, and Brandon Beachy come back from injury, this team will be scary.

Preview: Washington Nationals
Picked by many to win the NL East over the Braves and win the World Series, the Nationals are off to a fast 6-2 start coming into play tonight. Rising star Bryce Harper has been tearing the cover off the ball, hitting .394/.394/.788 with 4 HR and 6 RBI in 8 games. Nats rotation is one of the best in baseball and so far, they have been solid with a 4-2 record with a 3.11 ERA. Experts have said that this season has almost no weakness, but to this point in the season, the bullpen might be that weakness with an inflated ERA of 6.31. That ranks 27th in the MLB.

Preview: Pitching Matchups
Tomorrow night, Julio Teheran looks for his 1st win of the 2013 season when he opposes Ross Detwiler who is looking for his 1st victory as well. Teheran will be making his first career start against the Nationals. In 5 starts last season, Detwiler went 1-1 against the Braves with a 3.38 ERA.

Saturday's matchup features the battle of the aces as Tim Hudson and Stephen Strasburg get together. Hudson is 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA in 2 starts this season. Huddy had a hard time with the Nationals last season going 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in 3 starts. Strasburg is 1-1 with an ERA of 4.38 in 2 starts this season. Strasburg made 5 starts against the Braves in 2012 going 3-1 and a 4.10 ERA.

To wrap up the series, red-hot Paul Maholm takes the mound with the Nats other ace Gio Gonzalez opposing him. Maholm is off to an awesome start going 2-0 and has yet to allow a run. Maholm was 0-1 with a 5.14 ERA in only 1 start against the Nationals in 2012. Gio Gonzalez in 2 starts is 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA. A year ago, Gonzalez was 2-2 with a 4.57 ERA in 4 starts against the Braves.