Nats once again are without third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, still out with a strained rib muscle. The longer this goes the better chance Zimmerman might just skip the rest of the season. There are six games left after today with a day off on Thursday. No reason to start offseason training behind because you needed six weeks to recover from an injury made worse in a meaningless game. Livan Hernandez (10-12, 3.75 ERA) makes his second start of the homestand for Washington (66-89). The Braves (87-68) – in a critical game for their postseason hopes – turn to rookie Brandon Beachy (0-1, 2.08 ERA), making just his second major-league start. An Atlanta loss and a win by Philadelphia (93-62) clinches the N.L. East title for the Phillies. At this point the wild card is more important. The Braves are tied with San Francisco (87-68) with seven games left. Colorado (83-71) is 3 1/2 games behind. Here are today’s lineups:
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Braves:
Infante – 2B
Heyward – RF
Prado – 3B
McCann – C
Freeman – 1B
Gonzalez – SS
Cabrera – LF
Ankiel – CF
Beachy – SP
Nationals:
Espinosa – 2B
Morgan – CF
Desmond – SS
Dunn – 1B
Morse – RF
Bernadina – LF
Rodriguez – C
Gonzalez – 3B
Hernandez – SP
