 |
Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER The Nationals (and The B-52s) play tonight at Turner Field. |
ATLANTA -- It's another surprisingly pleasant day here in Atlanta, with mild temperatures and a nice breeze to boot. Not that the Nationals enjoyed the fine weather last night during one of their ugliest losses of the season.
They'll try to get back on track tonight, with John Lannan on the mound for the first time since taking a line drive off his face July 8 against the Rockies. What looked at the time like a potentially devastating injury instead turned out to be incredibly mild. The lefty suffered only a nasal contusion, and if you look at him now, you'd never know anything happened.
In talking to Lannan yesterday, he insisted he won't take the mound tonight worried about the same thing happening again. He does, however, plan to make a slight mechanical tweak, reverting to a form he used to use. On his follow-through, Lannan wants to tuck his head down and to the right a little more. He said he'd fallen into a bad habit of leaving his head up, which may have left him more susceptible to comebackers like the one last week.
Meanwhile, the Braves have painted a giant "10,000" into their outfield, in commemoration of the franchise's 10,000 all-time win last night. It sounds impressive, but they've also lost 9,992 games in their history. In fact, of the 16 original MLB franchise, the Braves' .5002 winning percentage ranks 12th (behind, among others, the Indians, Pirates and Cubs).
And finally, you'll notice in the above photo a big stage taking over the infield. The B-52s will be performing after tonight's game. So I'll be writing my game story with "Love Shack" blaring in the background. Can't wait...
NATIONALS at BRAVES
Where: Turner Field
Gametime: 7:10 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500 AM), XM 184
Weather: Partly cloudy, 77 degrees, Wind 11 mph RF to LF
STARTING LINEUPS
NATIONALS (46-47)
LF Roger Bernadina
2B Danny Espinosa
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Michael Morse