What to Watch for: 7/22
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Atlanta Braves (52-42) vs. Washington Nationals (54-39)
RHP Jair Jurrjens (3-3, 6.20) vs. LHP Ross Detwiler (4-3, 3.15)
The Nationals rebounded from a 4-0 loss in the first game of yesterday’s double-header to notch a 5-2 victory in the nightcap and split the twin-bill behind strong performances from John Lannan and Roger Bernadina, who had five hits overall on the day. Now, Washington looks for a split of the four-game series with lefty Ross Detwiler on the hill against Braves right-hander Jair Jurrjens in today’s finale.
NATIONALS LINEUP
1. Lombardozzi 2B
2. Harper RF
3. Zimmerman 3B
4. Morse LF
5. LaRoche 1B
6. Espinosa SS
7. Bernadina CF
8. Leon C
9. Detwiler LHP
LANNAN LIFTS NATIONALS SPIRITS AS THEY SALVAGE SPLIT
John Lannan allowed a pair of first-inning runs in his 2012 debut, but blanked the Braves on two hits in innings 2-7 as Washington won the “nightcap” of Saturday’s twinbill, 5-2. The win marked Lannan’s ninth in his career over the Braves, the most in MLB since he first faced them on April 12, 2008.
THIS SHARK AIN’T TANKING
In 18 games since June 28, Roger Bernadina is 13-for-27 (.481) with three walks, four runs scored, two RBI and five stolen bases, rasing his on-base percentage for the season from .314 to .358.
NO REST FOR THE WEARY
Thanks to a pair of home doubleheaders (July 21 vs. ATL, Aug. 3 vs. MIA), the Nationals are just nine days (5-5 record to date) into a stretch in which they will play 35 games in a 34-day stretch from July 13-August 15.
