MLB Standings 2012: Braves Hold 4-Game Lead For Wild Card, Trail Washington By 6 Games

Read on for complete NL East and NL Wild Card Standings.

Braves Vs. Nationals: Kris Medlen Dominant In Crucial Game For Atlanta

The Atlanta Braves salvaged their three-game series with the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night, avoiding being swept in the series with a 5-1 win. Kris Medlen's seven-inning, seven-strike-out performance was what led the Braves to victory, as SB Nation's Braves blog Talking Chop explains:

In a game that some were terming "must-win", Kris Medlen was every bit as dominant as he was in his last outing -- a complete game shut out. Medlen dominated the Nats for 7 stellar innings, allowing only 7 hits and a walk while striking out 7. Medlen held the Nats completely in check throughout the afternoon, swapping zeroes until Atlanta was able to put runs on the board.

Talking Chop has a full recap of Wednesday's Braves game, so head over and check it out. When you're done, feel free to chime in with your own opinions and commentary on the Braves.

Stick with SB Nation Atlanta or Talking Chop for your Atlanta Braves coverage.

Braves vs. Nationals: Kris Medlen Stops Skid As Atlanta Wins 5-1

The Braves needed to win at least one game this week in D.C. to keep their hopes alive in the National League East. After a heartbreaking loss on Monday and a frustrating one on Tuesday, Kris Medlen led Atlanta to a 5-1 win over Ross Detwiler and the Nationals.

Medlen continued to be excellent on the mound, working seven shutout innings against a red-hot Washington lineup. He scattered seven hits and a walk, using seven strikeouts to get himself out of a few jams in the later innings.

Martin Prado delivered the key hit for Atlanta with a two-out, two-run double in the top of the fifth. The Braves had been held completely helpless with runners in scoring position prior to Prado's at-bat, which really lifted the weight off the Braves' shoulders.

The Nats made things interesting in the eighth against Eric O'Flaherty. Bryce Harper was driven home with a single off the bat of Michael Morse. Adam LaRoche followed with a walk, moving the tying run into scoring position with only one out. In what might just have been a turning point in the Braves' season, O'Flaherty forced Ian Desmond to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat.

Chipper Jones reached on an error to lead off the ninth inning. Freddie Freeman doubled, putting two in scoring position. David Ross drove home a run with a deep sacrifice fly to center to push the lead to 3-1. Michael Bourn then drove home Freeman with a line drive up the middle. Bourn eventually came around to score on a wild pitch, stolen base and throwing error from catcher Kurt Suzuki.

Craig Kimbrel entered the bottom half of the frame and struck out all three batters he faced to secure the 5-1 win.

The Braves will now head to San Francisco for a key four-game series with the NL West leaders.

Braves Vs. Nationals Lineups: Atlanta Tries To Break Four-Game Slide

The Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals will conclude their three-game series on Wednesday night at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

The Braves were looking to gain some ground on the NL East leading Nationals when the series began on Monday, but they've dropped the last two games -- extending their losing streak to four -- and find themselves seven games behind the Nats in the standings.

Both teams have released their lineups for Thursday. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez has decided to employ a right-handed heavy lineup against Washington's Ross Detwiler, a left hander:

Tonight's lineup at WSH (7:05, SPSO/680AM/BRN): Prado 7 Johnson 8 Heyward 9 Jones 5 Freeman 3 Ross 2 Pastornicky 4 Janish 6 Medlen 1

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 22, 2012

And here are the starters for the Washington Nationals:

#Nats 8/22 Lineup: Werth RF, Harper CF, Zim 3B, Morse LF, LaRoche 1B, Desmond SS, Espinosa 2B, Suzuki C, Detwiler LHP

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 22, 2012

First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m. ET.

Read more on the Braves at Talking Chop and SB Nation Atlanta. Head over to Federal Baseball and SB Nation DC for more on the Nationals. Baseball Nation is your source for news, notes and analysis around Major League Baseball.

Braves Vs. Nationals: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

If the Atlanta Braves fail to win the NL East, they can point to their games with the Washington Nationals as to why. In 14 contests with Washington, Atlanta has lost 10 of them, including the first two in the current series.

The Braves will look to salvage this week's series on Wednesday when Kris Medlen (4-1, 2.03 ERA) takes the hill. Since joining the rotation on July 31, Medlen has been dominant. The right-hander has not allowed more than one run in any start and threw a complete game shutout in his last outing.

Opposing Medlen is Ross Detwiler (7-5, 3.25 ERA). His presence will be a welcome sight for Martin Prado, who is 9-for-16 against Detwiler in his career.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 ET and the game can be seen on SportSouth.

Read more on the Braves at Talking Chop and SB Nation Atlanta. Head over to Federal Baseball and SB Nation DC for more on the Nationals. Baseball Nation is your source for news, notes and analysis around Major League Baseball.

Braves vs. Nationals: Stephen Strasburg K's 10 In 4-1 Win

Barring a collapse similar to the one the Braves suffered last September, the Washington Nationals appear well on their way to a National League East title. Following another win over Atlanta on Tuesday -- their fourth straight over their rivals to the south -- the Nationals now hold a commanding seven-game lead in the standings.

Hey, at least there's the wild card play-in game.

Stephen Strasburg was the star tonight, striking out 10 batters in just six innings of work. He surrendered just one run on a sacrifice fly from Freddie Freeman, scattering a total of four hits and one walk while on the mound.

Paul Maholm tossed seven frames on Tuesday. Similar to recent starts, he was only done in by the long ball. Maholm gave up a solo homer to Ian Desmond in the second inning, followed by a crushing three-run blast from backup catcher Jesus Flores to make it 4-0.

The Braves put runners on the corners with no outs in the ninth, only to swing at the next three pitches and make three outs.

The two clubs will meet again for the series finale on Wednesday evening at 7:05 ET.

Nationals Lead Braves 1-0 In Rain Delay

For the second time in as many nights, the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals find themselves mired in a rain delay.

Unlike Monday night, the game did get underway on time on Tuesday night. Paul Maholm pitched two innings, giving up one run, which came on an Ian Desmond solo home run.

Stephen Strasburg has put together another nice outing in the early goings so far, striking out four in two and two-thirds innings of work. With two outs and nobody on in the top of the third inning, however, the grounds crew put the tarp on the field, and putting the two teams in a rain delay.

With the Nationals being very protective of Strasburg's arm, it's fair to wonder if he'll return to the contest when play does resume. The longer the delay lasts, the less likely Strasburg is to return.

For the latest on the Atlanta Braves, be sure to head over to Talking Chop and join the discussion.

Braves Vs. Nationals Lineups: Chipper Jones Not Starting

The Atlanta Braves look to rebound in the second game of a three-game series against the NL East leading Washington Nationals, a night after dropping the series opener in extra innings.

Both Fredi Gonzalez and Davey Johnson have released the starting lineups for Tuesday night. You'll notice the absence of Chipper Jones in Atlanta's lineup.

Atlanta Braves

CF Michael Bourn
LF Martin Prado
RF Jason Heyward
1B Freddie Freeman
2B Dan Uggla
C Brian McCann
3B Juan Francisco
SS Paul Janish
SP Paul Maholm

Washington Nationals

RF Jayson Werth
CF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman
LF Michael Morse
1B Adam LaRoche
SS Ian Desmond
2B Danny Espinosa
C Jesus Flores
SP Stephen Strasburg

No reason has been given on Jones' absence from the lineup yet, but it's very possible that Fredi Gonzalez is just giving the Hall of Famer a day off -- and he might as well get a day off against one of the best pitchers in all of baseball.

For more on the Braves, be sure to check out Talking Chop.

Braves Vs. Nationals Time, TV, Radio Info And More

The Braves are looking to respond to their disappointing series-opening loss in extra innings against the NL East division leading Nationals. On Tuesday, Atlanta and Washington go at it again, with the Braves hoping to climb their way up the standings through a win for them and a loss for the Nats.

Paul Maholm (11-7, 3.39 ERA) will take the mound for the Braves, while Cy Young candidate Stephen Strasburg (14-5, 2.91 ERA) gets the start for the Nationals.

Atlanta is currently six games behind Washington for the NL Central lead, but right in the thick of the Wild Card race, tied at the top with the Pirates.

Take a look here at the game schedule and broadcast information:

Date/Time: Tuesday, Aug. 21, 7:05 p.m. ET

Location: Nationals Park

TV: SPSO, MASN

Radio: WCNN 680WNNX 100.5

Online streaming: MLB.tv

Read more on the Braves at Talking Chop and SB Nation Atlanta. Head over to Federal Baseball and SB Nation DC for more on the Nationals. Baseball Nation is your source for news, notes and analysis around Major League Baseball.

Braves Lose Frustrating Series Opener With Nationals In 13 Innings

The Braves left 14 runners on base -- all of which seemingly came in the final innings when the club had numerous scoring opportunities -- in Monday night's 5-4 loss to the Washington Nationals. Atlanta now sits six games back of their NL East foes with 40 games to play.

Jason Heyward singled home the first run of the game in the first inning. Tim Hudson's struggles continued against the Nationals in the bottom half of the frame, as he surrendered four runs.

The Braves started chipping away after trailing 4-1 early. Paul Janish beat out an infield single in the fourth to cut the deficit to two runs. Heyward followed in the fifth with a two-run jack off Jordan Zimmermann to tie the game at 4-4.

That score held until the 13th inning despite countless chances for both teams. It seemed like each club had a runner in scoring position in every inning, with strikeouts and unproductive pop outs leading to no runner crossing home plate safely.

The Nationals won in the 13th without hitting a ball out of the infield. Ian Desmond singled on a weak grounder to second baseman Dan Uggla. After a bunt groundout forced Desmond out at second and put Danny Espinosa on first, Chad Tracy chopped a ball between shortstop Paul Janish and third baseman Chipper Jones. The ball was booted, allowing Espinosa to advance to third base and putting Tracy on first.

Kurt Suzuki followed with a grounder to Uggla, who was playing in, only this time the veteran second baseman bobbled the would-be double play opportunity and allowed the winning run to score.

The Braves and Nats will meet again on Tuesday night.

Braves, Nationals In Rain Delay

The start of Monday night's game between the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals is being delayed because of inclement weather.

AccuWeather.com's hourly forecast of the Washington area shows on-and-off thunderstorms for the night, with a 51% chance of precipitation between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. There does not appear to be any steady rain moving into the area, so the game should be played tonight.

Jordan Zimmermann and Tim Hudson remain the scheduled starting pitchers for both teams.

The Braves are looking to erase a five-game deficit in the National League East, and I'm sure both teams would prefer if the series did not feature a double header. It's looking unlikely that the game will be called off, but as always with inclement weather, it's a possibility.

For the latest on the Atlanta Braves, be sure to check out Talking Chop and join the discussion.

Braves Vs. Nationals: Atlanta Looks To Gain Ground On Washington

The Atlanta Braves entered Monday five games behind the Nationals in the NL East and they'd love to put some pressure on Washington as September approaches. In order to do that, though, they'll have to hit better than they did in Los Angeles over the weekend. They'll also need a strong effort from the pitching staff to halt some of Washington's hot bats.

As noted in Talking Chop's preview of this series, Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse have been doing a lot of damage for the Nationals of late.

Ryan Zimmerman continues to lead the Nationals with his torrid hitting, posting a .327/.400/.513 line over the past month. Zimmerman leads the Nats in WAR (1.4), wOBA (.386), and wRC+ (145) over that time frame, and shutting down his bat will be top priority for Braves pitching this week. Michael Morse continues to be a slugging force in the middle of the Nats' order, cleaning up behind Zimmerman. Morse has hit .295 over the past month while slugging .545 including 7 home runs.

Related: Lugo Throws A Gem, Teheran Melts Down, And Gwinnett's Offense Goes Crazy In Sunday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

For updates, stick with SB Nation Atlanta. For more in-depth coverage of this series, head over to Talking Chop. And for more news and notes from around baseball, visit Baseball Nation.

Braves Vs. Nationals Lineups: Chipper Jones Returns For Monday's Series Opener

The Braves will roll their normal lineup out for Monday's series opener with the Nationals. Atlanta trails the Nats by five games in the NL East with about 40 games left in the season meaning the stakes in this three-game series are at an all-time high.

After sitting out on Sunday afternoon with sore knees, Chipper Jones has returned to the lineup and is batting fourth. Despite his shoulder issues the last few weeks, Brian McCann is also playing, batting seventh.

Here are the lineups for Monday's game. It starts at 7:05 p.m.

Braves:

Michael Bourn - CF
Martin Prado - LF
Jason Heyward - RF
Chipper Jones - 3B
Freddie Freeman - 1B
Dan Uggla - 2B
Brian McCann - C
Paul Janish - SS
Tim Hudson - P

Nationals:

Jayson Werth - RF
Bryce Harper - CF
Ryan Zimmerman - 3B
Michael Morse - LF
Adam LaRoche - 1B
Ian Desmond - SS
Danny Espinosa - 2B
Kurt Suzuki - C
Jordan Zimmermann - P

For more on the Braves, check out Talking Chop.

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