I really like this play when you look at this match up both teams are struggling to score runs as the Nationals are ranked 28th in baseball over the last 7 days in OPS .606, and the Braves 29th .597. You would think the Braves could score today against Dan Haren, but their struggles are well documented with just 2.67 runs per 9 vs. RHP over their last 10 games. Haren put together a nice start his last time out and has pitched better than his ERA shows. He has been unlucky with a .386 BABIP and that will come back down towards the mean. I like his K/BB ratio which is around 5:1. He's backed by a bullpen that is starting to put things together as the Nationals are 2nd in the league over the last 7 days with a 2.83 ERA.
Atlanta sends one of their most promising young starters in Kris Medlen who is coming off a tough start, but at least he is back home where he has only 2 starts on the year posting a 2.25 ERA. In fact over the last 3 years in 127 IP at home he has a 2.26 ERA which includes 13 starts. He was dominant allowing just 1 ER in 14 IP while striking out 20 National hitters in 2 starts last year and the Nationals have just a .599 OPS in 81 AB against him. I think he'll come up with a great performance after facing two teams on the road who are top 10 in OPS vs. RHP. Now he gets to face a banged up Nationals team that is ranked 19th and scoring just 2.93 runs per 9 vs RHP over their last 10 games. He's also backed by a bullpen that is #1 in baseball with a 1.99 ERA.
