WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals proved on their road trip last week that they can beat a good team away from home, as they took three out of four against the San Francisco Giants in the middle leg of a three-city trip.
Starting at home Thursday night, the Nationals will try and find out if they can finally win a series against the Atlanta Braves.
Washington lost five of six games to Atlanta this season, with the only win coming April 6 during a three-game series at Nationals Park.
The Braves and St. Louis Cardinals, who swept a three-game series this past weekend against visiting Washington, have been thorns in the side of the Nationals the past few years.
“We know what is at stake … even in the middle of June,” Washington right fielder Jayson Werth said.
The Nationals have now won their last five games at home and seven of the last eight.
The starting pitcher for Atlanta in the first game of the series on Thursday will be a familiar name to Washington-area baseball fans: right-hander Gavin Floyd, who grew up in nearby Annapolis, Maryland and went to high school in Baltimore.