Atlanta (82-60) at Washington (73-70), 1:05 pm EDT
WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- The Atlanta Braves hope to ride ace John
Smoltz to yet another win Sunday, while the Washington Nationals
will attempt to piece together a much-needed victory.
Smoltz (14-6, 2.96 ERA) has won 10 of his last 11 decisions,
losing just once since June 6 - a span of 17 starts. The former
Cy Young Award winner yielded one run in seven frames Tuesday
vs. the New York Mets to move within one triumph of his sixth
15-win season.
The 38-year-old righthander owns a 15-7 career mark with a 2.49
ERA against the Nationals franchise. He already has faced them
four times this season, going 1-0 with a 3.33 ERA.
Making his 392nd career start, Smoltz is opposed by Jason
Bergmann (1-0, 1.86), who receives the first start of his
career. The 23-year-old rookie has made seven relief
appearances, including three against the Braves in which he's
worked a total of five scoreless innings.
The Nationals, who need the emergency start from Bergmann due to
injuries to Tony Armas Jr. and Ryan Drese, expect the
righthander to work only two or three innings.
Washington opened the series Friday with an 8-6 triumph before
falling by a 4-0 score Saturday as Atlanta's Jorge Sosa worked
eight dominant innings and Andruw Jones blasted his franchise
record-tying 47th homer.
The loss dropped the Nationals to four games behind Houston in
the National League wild card standings. The Braves own a
six-game lead on Florida in the NL East and appear headed for
their 14th straight division title.
The season series, which concludes Sunday, is tied at 9-9.