Atlanta Braves vs. Washington Nationals Series
Preview

The Braves host the Nationals for a three-game weekend series with two of Washington's potential all-stars facing a Braves team that was denied a sweep against Arizona. Washington is coming off a series in Colorado that saw them score 35 runs in splitting a four-game set.

The Braves have played two series against the Nationals this year; both times they've had to face both Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez. If they are to gain any ground in the standings during this series, they'll have to do it a third time. By the way, Mike Minor and Randall Delgado are scheduled to pitch for Atlanta in this series, and both of their last starts were far from promising. Braves fans can only hope they step up their performance against the division leaders.

One player for the Nats who has caught fire this month is Tyler Moore. In 12 games this month, all Moore has done is hit .455 with four home runs, four multi-hit games and an OPS of 1.448. Ian Desmond and Bryce Harper have also been on a roll this month, hitting .297 and .289 respectively. The Nats are 12th in the NL with 298 runs scored.

The pitching staff has won 14 games this month with a 3.31 ERA. Ross Detwiler and Chien-Ming Wang have again flip-flopped between bullpen and starting rotation. Detwiler has allowed just two runs in 16.1 June innings while Wang has surrendered 11 runs and issued 11 walks opposite eight strikeouts in 14.2 innings. Tyler Clippard has not been scored upon in his last 16 appearances and has allowed a total of four hits since April 28, and just one in 11 June games. Of the eight runs he's allowed this year, six were in April.

Pitching matchups after the jump.

Friday, June 29, 7:35 p.m. ET

Randall Delgado

#40 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-3

Weight: 200

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Feb 09, 1990

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP2012 - Randall Delgado4-81414000075.2683938639614.521.41

Ross Detwiler

#48 / Pitcher / Washington Nationals

Height: 6-5

Weight: 185

Bats: R

Throws: L

Born: Mar 06, 1986

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP2012 - Ross Detwiler4-31610000067.0582823623493.091.21

Saturday, June 30, 4:05 p.m. ET

Mike Minor

#36 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-3

Weight: 210

Bats: R

Throws: L

Born: Dec 26, 1987

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP2012 - Mike Minor3-61414000080.28360551833706.141.44

Stephen Strasburg

#37 / Pitcher / Washington Nationals

Height: 6-4

Weight: 220

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jul 20, 1988

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP2012 - Stephen Strasburg9-21515000090.07129266231182.601.04

Sunday, July 1, 1:35 p.m. ET

Tim Hudson

#15 / Pitcher / Atlanta Braves

Height: 6-1

Weight: 175

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jul 14, 1975

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP2012 - Tim Hudson6-31111110073.0663129321513.581.19

Gio Gonzalez

#47 / Pitcher / Washington Nationals

Height: 6-0

Weight: 205

Bats: R

Throws: L

Born: Sep 19, 1985

W-L G GS CG SHO SV BS IP H R ER HR BB K ERA WHIP2012 - Gio Gonzalez10-31515000090.26329283351082.781.08

BULLPEN

L - Sean Burnett
R - Tyler Clippard (closer)
L - Mike Gonzalez
L - Tom Gorzelanny
R - Ryan Mattheus
R - Craig Stammen
R - Chien-Ming Wang

Read The Full Article:
http://www.talkingchop.com/2012/6/29/3125150/atlanta-braves-vs-washington-nationa
ls-series-preview

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Want to write for Marlin Maniac

I had this posted earlier this month, but I wanted to catch everyone’s attention with this again. Marlin Maniac is currently looking to add more writers to our already wonderful staff. Marlin Maniac is currently seeking to add some new staff writers to help the site to talk about the Marlins season. With the trade [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://marlinmaniac.com/2012/06/29/want-to-write-for-marlin-maniac/

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Today Is Billy Williams Day!!!!

On June 29, 1969, the Chicago Cubs held ‘Billy Williams Day’ at Wrigley Field. While an event of this caliber is usually reserved for a player in his final year or final home stand as a member of the home … Continue reading →

Read The Full Article:
http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/today-is-billy-williams-day-3/

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2012 MLB Power Rankings Week 12

Another week closer to the half-way mark of the 2012 MLB season and teams are battling all over baseball. In the NL West the 2nd place Dodgers have hit just 6 homers, and the 1st place SF Giants made them miss Matt Kemp. In the AL West the Halos are[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ladylovespinstripes/~3/Y3RQ18q9-7Q/

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6/29 News, Links, Discussion: Braves-Nationals,
Jurrjens Start, Facing the Heat

Game 1 vs. Nationals The D’backs avoided the sweep Thursday by defeating the Braves 3-2 with a Chris Young home run off Craig Kimbrel in the ninth. The Braves offense let several opportunities pass them by and led to Kimbrel’s first loss of the season as he gave up his first run since May 4. [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolAvenueClub/~3/zgEq4n59yAQ/

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Miami Marlins Series Preview: 3-game series vs.
Philadelphia

    I had an email chat with Ethan over at our partner site in Philadelphia, That Ball?s Outta Here, and asked him a few questions about the upcoming 3-day NL East bottom-feeder?s duel: ——————————————– MM: Chase Utley is back in the lineup after a stint on the DL, and tatered against the Pirates.  How [...]

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http://marlinmaniac.com/2012/06/29/preview-3-game-series-at-philadelphia/

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Miami Marlins Series Preview: 3-game series at
Philadelphia

  I had an email chat with Ethan over at our partner site in Philadelphia, That Ball?s Outta Here, and asked him a few questions about the upcoming 3-day NL East bottom-feeder?s duel: MM: Chase Utley is back in the lineup after a stint on the DL, and he tatered against the Pirates.  How much [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://marlinmaniac.com/2012/06/29/preview-3-game-series-at-philadelphia/

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Friday's Saber-Links

Here's Friday's edition of Saber-Links:Bill Petti, an Editor here at Beyond the Box Score, as well as, writer for Fangraphs, looked into the decline of hitters who walk more than they strikeout: The Disappearance of Hitters Who Walk More Than They[...]

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http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2012/6/29/3126032/fridays-saber-links

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Philadelphia Phillies @ Miami Marlins Series
Preview: Chat with Justin Klugh of That Balls Outta Here

The Miami Marlins are coming fresh off of a win against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Marlins did end up losing that series and are currently at 2-4 on their 9-game homestand. The Marlins are hoping to bounce back against the only team that they have beaten in a series this month, the Philadelphia Phillies. [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://marlinmaniac.com/2012/06/29/philadelphia-phillies-miami-marlins-series-pre
view-chat-with-justin-klugh-of-that-balls-outta-here/

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Astros Minor League Recap: June 29, 2012

I'm sure all of you have seen that Nicholas Tropeano was promoted to Lancaster and Ruben Alaniz was placed on the DL to make room for him. Alaniz is experiencing some fatigue and that's understandable being that he leads the league in innings pitched. This isn't temporary until Alaniz returns, one of the guys who should be a bullpen guy will go to then pen when Alaniz does get back. It's well deserved for NiTro/Trope.

Despite Tropeano not pitching yesterday, we are going to highlight his performance anyway. His overall stats indicate that he's been really good. His ERA is 2.78 which is higher than his FIP (2.39) but lower than his SIERA (2.91). One thing that sticks out is that he has a high BABIP compared to league average (.330 vs. .313). His HR/9 indicates that he's been lucky with HR since its well below average (.31 vs .68), but he's now done that for two years. He posted a HR/9 of .17 at Tri-City last season in which his home park has a high HR factor (actually higher than Lancaster), and the league average for the NYPL was .47. He has a 45/7 GB% which really isn't that high, but his FB% is better than average. That extra is with a high LD% which is actually higher than average. But, he's a league leader in strikeouts and his K% is a very good 27.2% and that's what he'll hang his hat on.

So, who replaces his spot in the rotation. My bet is that Evan Grills transitions to the rotation. He was supposed to move down to Tri-City and pitch in that rotation, but hasn't happened because they have six starters already. Carlos Quevedo and Euris Quezada both have experience as starters so they are options as well. One of the six starters in Tri-City could as well, but I doubt that will happen.

Oklahoma City RedHawks won 3-1

• Aneury Rodriguez-5 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 4/3 GO/AO, 77 pitches-Not bad at all
• Sergio Perez-1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 3/1 GO/AO
• Mickey Storey-2 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 5/0 GO/AO
• Jimmy Paredes 2B-2-4, 2 SB
• Marwin Gonzalez SS-0-3, SO-Rehab assignment
• Angel Sanchez PH, SS1-2, 2B, SO

Texas League All-Stars South lost 3-1

• Ross Seaton-1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 1 HR, 2/1 GO/AO, 18 pitches
• Jarred Cosart-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 2/0 GO/AO, 9 pitches
• Jason Stoffel-1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 2/1 GO/AO, 10 pitches
• Kevin Chapman-1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 6 pitches
• Jonathan Villar SS-0-2
• Jose Martinez 2B-0-4
• Jonathan Singleton LF-0-1, BB

Lancaster JetHawks won 10-3

• Jose Trinidad-7 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 11/5 GO/AO
• Brian Streilein-2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 3/1 GO/AO
• George Springer CF-3-5, SO-Average is over .300 again
• Erik Castro DH-1-4, HR, BB, 2 SO
• Domingo Santana RF-2-4, 2B, SB
• Telvin Nash LF-1-5, HR, 4 SO
• Jonathan Meyer 3B-2-5, SO
• Rafael Valenzuela 1B-0-2, 2 BB, SB
• Rene Garcia C-1-3, 2B

Lexington Legends won 11-3

• Jonas Dufek-1 2/3 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR, 1/3 GO/AO
• Evan Grills-3 2/3 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 4/3 GO/AO
• Murilo Gouvea-2 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO
• Dayan Diaz-1 IP, 2 H, 0 R< 0 BB, 2 SO
• Delino DeShields Jr. 2B-2-4, 2B, BB, 3 SB-Awesome
• Jordan Scott CF-1-4, 2B, BB, OF Assist
• Zachary Johnson 1B-1-3, 3 BB
• Matt Duffy 3B-1-5, 2B, SO
• Jay Austin DH-4-5, 2B, BB
• Brandon Meredith LF-3-6, 2B, SO
• Roberto Pena C-2-6, SO
• Chan Moon SS-1-3, 3B, 2 BB

Tri-City ValleyCats won 5-3

• Joe Bircher-4 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, 4/5 GO/AO
• Juan Minaya-4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, 7/2 GO/AO
• Blake Ford-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
• Austin Elkins 2B-1-4, 2B
• Dan Gulbransen LF-1-3, 3B, BB, SO

Greeneville Astros won 5-2

• Daniel Minor-4 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 5/2 GO/AO
• Mitchel Lambson-3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO, 1/4 GO/AO
• Mike Hauschild-2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3/0 GO/AO
• Ernesto Genoves C-1-4, 2B
• Michael Martinez 1B-1-2, HR, BB
• James Howick SS-2-3

GCL Astros lost 7-6

• Jandel Gustave-1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER,3 BB, 0 SO, 4/1 GO/AO
• Ricardo Batista-1 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 2/0 GO/AO
• Reymin Guduan-3 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO, 4/1 GO/AO
• Jose Montero-1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO
• Javaris Reynolds CF-0-2, 2 BB
• Carlos Correa SS-1-4, 2B, BB, SO
• Jose Solano 2B, 3B-0-4, 3 SO
• Luis De La Rosa RF-0-3, 3 SO

GCL Astros lost 3-1

• Edison Frias-3 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 2 SO, 3/2 GO/AO
• Andrew Walter-2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO
• Ambiorix De Leon-1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 1 HR
• Alan Abreu-1 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 2/0 GO/AO
• Brett Phillips CF-3-3, 2B, 3B
• Ydarqui Martinez RF-1-2, 2B

DSL Astros won 11-4

• Johan Arias-7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 12/4 GO/AO
• Rauldison Rodriguez-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
• Jarico Reynoso CF-1-3, 3B, SO, SB (got on base again by HBP)
• Luis Reynoso 2B-3-4, BB, SO
• Yoel Silfa 3B-3-5, 2 2B, SO
• Brauly Mejia LF-1-4, 2B
• Pedro Coa C-3-4, 2B
• Jean Carlos Cortorreal DH-2-4

Read The Full Article:
http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2012/6/29/3125872/astros-minor-league-recap-june-29-
2012

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