The Washington Nationals will not be finishing the 2011 campaign in the NL East cellar and their playoff hopes were long ago dashed, but that doesn't mean they will be taking Saturday afternoon's game against the Atlanta Braves lightly. The Braves snapped the Nats five-game winning streak on Friday night and have themselves moved closer to claiming the Wild Card. Washington will look for a measure of revenge and to prevent Atlanta from building on their lead for the Wild Card.
On the mound for the Nationals will be pitcher Chien-Ming Wang (3-3, 4.31 ERA) who will go up against Atlanta's Brandon Beachy (7-2, 3.58 ERA). Wang is coming off his longest start of 2011, a victory over the Florida Marlins, a 6 2/3-inning performance where he allowed three runs on six hits with a season-high five strikeouts.
Wang will have the Nationals "A-Line Up" working for him, including having veteran catcher Ivan Rodriguez as his battery mate. It is Rodriguez's first start since before the All-Star break. Wang and Rodriguez look to get the job done at Nationals Park at 1:05 P.M.
Nationals Line Up:
Ian Desmond – SS
Rick Ankiel – CF
Ryan Zimmerman – 3B
Michael Morse – LF
Jayson Werth – RF
Danny Espinosa – 2B
Chris Marrero – 1B
Ivan Rodriguez – C
Chien-Ming Wang – SP