| SEASON | CAREER |
| W11 | 64 |
| L7 | 80 |
| G24 | 209 |
| IP143.1 | 1287.0 |
| BB39 | 421 |
| SO101 | 806 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W14 | 20 |
| L5 | 9 |
| G24 | 41 |
| IP139.1 | 231.0 |
| BB42 | 61 |
| SO173 | 289 |
Although Stephen Strasburg 's season could be cut short because of a management-imposed innings limit, the Washington Nationals staff ace is one of the top contenders for the NL Cy Young Award.
The Atlanta Braves , however, are one of the few team that have given him problems on multiple occasions.
With the Nationals building their largest division lead in 18 years with a wild victory in the series opener, Strasburg hopes to push the advantage over the Braves to seven games on Tuesday night.
As the owner of baseball's best record, Washington (76-46) has had plenty of exciting victories, but Monday's 5-4, 13-inning win over Atlanta might have been the biggest. Danny Espinosa scored the winning run from third on a ball bobbled by Braves second baseman Dan Uggla off the bat of Chad Tracy . Espinosa got to third after advancing all the way from first on a Kurt Suzuki chopper behind the mound that third baseman Chipper Jones and shortstop Paul Janish converged on.
"It was almost like a playoff game," manager Davey Johnson said. "They had their chances. We had our chances. It was that kind of game."The Nationals took a six-game lead over the Braves - the franchise's first lead of this length since Montreal concluded the 1994 strike-shortened season six ahead of Atlanta. The Expos' largest lead that year was seven games one day before the season ended.
The Nationals are 9-4 against the Braves this season, but Strasburg's last two starts in the series have both been defeats for Washington. He had a 7.56 ERA in those outings.
He has been hit hard by several Atlanta players this year, with Brian McCann going 3 for 8 with a homer and double and Jason Heyward 5 for 7 with a double. Uggla, likely eager to take the field after Monday's fielding gaffe, is batting .533 with two homers and two doubles in 15 career at-bats against Strasburg (14-5, 2.91 ERA).
Strasburg, though, comes into this meeting with a 1.50 ERA in winning his three starts this month. In San Francisco on Wednesday, he allowed two runs and four hits with seven strikeouts in six innings of a 6-4 victory.
Strasburg increased his strikeout total to 173 while bumping his inning count up to 139 1-3. There are rumors that he will be shut down after reaching either 160 or 180 innings, but the right-hander has said he hasn't been told of any limit.
He hasn't gone more than six in his last four starts, but might be asked to go a bit longer after the Nationals used seven relievers to pitch eight innings Monday.
The Braves had five relievers go 6 1-3 innings in the opener, and have said starters Ben Sheets and Tommy Hanson could move to the bullpen Tuesday in case Paul Maholm (11-7, 3.39) gets into trouble.
That hasn't happened yet, however.
Maholm gave up a run and five hits in seven innings of Wednesday's 6-1 win over San Diego, improving to 2-1 with a 1.57 ERA in three starts since being acquired from the Chicago Cubs on July 30. The left-hander is 7-1 with a 1.19 ERA in his last eight starts overall, knocking almost two runs off his ERA from 5.38.
"He's really figured out how to pitch, he's really figured out what type of pitcher he is," Uggla told the Braves' official website.
This will be his first start of the season against the Nationals after going 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in two outings against them last year with Pittsburgh.
Jayson Werth is 4 for 9 with two doubles versus Maholm since 2010, and Ryan Zimmerman is a career .333-hitter against him in 18 at-bats.
Zimmerman is batting .359 with seven RBIs and six walks in his last 10 games.
@
@
AVG
HRRUNSSBSOBBOBPSLGOPSERAQSSOBBSVBSBAAWHIPE
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Eric Hinske | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Tim Hudson | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Chipper Jones | 2 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 1.167 | .500 |
| Brian McCann | 3 | .667 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .667 | 1.334 | .667 |
| Martin Prado | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Dan Uggla | 4 | .750 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | .800 | 2.550 | 1.750 |
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Rick Ankiel | 13 | .154 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .214 | .445 | .231 |
| Roger Bernadina | 6 | .167 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .167 | .334 | .167 |
| Brett Carroll | 5 | .200 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .200 | .400 | .200 |
| Mark DeRosa | 18 | .333 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | .400 | 1.011 | .611 |
| Ian Desmond | 7 | .286 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .444 | .730 | .286 |
| Danny Espinosa | 7 | .143 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .143 | .286 | .143 |
| Jesus Flores | 6 | .500 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .500 | 2.000 | 1.500 |
| Adam LaRoche | 7 | .286 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | .375 | .804 | .429 |
| Xavier Nady | 14 | .143 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | .250 | .464 | .214 |
| Wilson Ramos | 6 | .167 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .167 | .334 | .167 |
| Chad Tracy | 6 | .500 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .571 | 1.071 | .500 |
| Jayson Werth | 24 | .375 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 5 | .400 | 1.025 | .625 |
| Ryan Zimmerman | 18 | .333 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .368 | .701 | .333 |
 Atlanta Braves |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| August 10, 2012 | Chipper Jones | Day-to-Day | Back tightness |
| August 01, 2012 | Jair Jurrjens | 15-Day DL | Strained right groin |
| July 31, 2012 | Tommy Hanson | 15-Day DL | Lower back strain |
| July 31, 2012 | Tommy Hanson | 15-Day DL | Lower back strain |
| July 20, 2012 | Matt Diaz | 15-Day DL | Right thumb surgery - out for season |
| July 14, 2012 | Jack Wilson | 15-Day DL | Dislocated right pinkie finger |
 Washington Nationals |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| August 13, 2012 | Jayson Werth | Day-to-Day | Sore right ankle |
| August 05, 2012 | Mark DeRosa | 15-Day DL | Left abdominal strain |
| August 01, 2012 | Henry Rodriguez | 15-Day DL | Strained lower back |
| July 29, 2012 | Adam LaRoche | Day-to-Day | Left game - Back tightness |
| July 22, 2012 | Ian Desmond | 15-Day DL | Torn left oblique |
| July 22, 2012 | Ian Desmond | 15-Day DL | Torn left oblique |
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Because the Washington Nationals have an innings limit for star right-hander Stephen Strasburg , there aren't many starts left in his remarkable season.
On Tuesday night, Strasburg ignored that talk and weathered his first major league rain delay, striking out 10 and allowing one run in six innings for his 15th win as the Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1.
For weeks, the impending shutdown of Strasburg (15-5) has been the talk of baseball and though the Nationals haven't said exactly what their limit is, it's thought to be between 160 and 180 innings. After this start, his fourth straight win, when he allowed four hits and walked one, he has thrown 145 1-3 innings.
"It's funny. Nobody talks to me personally about it. Obviously, I can either scour the Internet or watch all the stuff being said on TV or I can just keep pitching and watch the Golf Channel, I guess," Strasburg said.
Talk of his innings limit overshadowed discussion of the NL East race. Washington's win gave the Nationals a seven-game lead over second-place Atlanta, their largest of the season.
"Eight would be better," manager Davey Johnson said.
Had the rain delay exceeded an hour, Johnson said he would not have let Strasburg return to the game. Strasburg had allowed two hits and struck out four when the 51-minute delay began.
"I didn't like the way he was throwing, so I wanted him to go back out," Johnson joked.
"It was just a dominant outing. He had a good idea of what he wanted to do - and he was doing it."
The Braves have lost four straight, and if they lose Wednesday, they will leave town with an eight-game deficit.
"It's not the end of the world. We've got 40 games left or whatever it is," Atlanta starter Paul Maholm said.
"We've got to take care of our business and come in tomorrow and expect to win. As long as we play well, we win series from here on out, I think the last couple weeks will be fun."
Though the Nationals have baseball's best record, Strasburg isn't relaxing.
"Job isn't finished. It's still August. We're still focused. We're trying to win as many games as we can," Strasburg said.
He isn't treating his final few games as his personal playoffs, he said.
"They're regular season. I'm going to keep pitching. I'm in it with these guys for the long haul," Strasburg said.
Strasburg struck out Michael Bourn to begin the game and struck out two in the second. After he struck out Maholm and Bourn flied to left, the rain came. When the game resumed, Strasburg caught Prado looking to end the third inning.
Atlanta catcher Brian McCann was impressed with Strasburg before - and after the delay.
"I thought he was better," McCann said. "He had his stuff going tonight. He had all three of his pitches going, his location was on."
Strasburg struck out two more in the fourth, and in the fifth, fanned Juan Francisco , Paul Janish and Maholm to give him 10.
It was the fifth time this season Strasburg had struck out 10 or more. His career high is 14, which came in his debut on June 8, 2010.
"Each outing, each inning, he's learning more about what he wants to do. He's controlling what he wants the catcher to do more. It's fun watching," Johnson said.
In the sixth, Bourn grounded out. Prado doubled and Jason Heyward singled. Prado scored on Freddie Freeman 's sacrifice fly to center. After Heyward was tagged for the third out trying to advance when a pitch got away from Jesus Flores , Johnson shook Strasburg's hand when he reached the dugout.
Drew Storen , Sean Burnett and Tyler Clippard each threw a scoreless inning. Clippard pitched the ninth for his 28th save in 32 opportunities.
Ian Desmond hit a two-out homer in the second off Maholm (11-8). It was his 19th of the season - and second in two nights.
Flores hit a three-run home run in the fifth for a 4-0 lead.
Maholm threw seven innings, allowing four runs and seven hits, walking one and striking out six.
NOTES: Atlanta 3B Chipper Jones was rested after he told manager Fredi Gonzalez his knees were sore following Monday's 13-inning game. ... Washington OF Bryce Harper struck out four straight times. He struck out in his final at-bat Monday. ... Heyward had three hits. ... This was the third straight game the Nationals have had delayed by rain. The total of the delays was 4 hours, 13 minutes. ... Atlanta RHP Kris Medlen (4-1, 2.03) pitches on Wednesday against Washington LHP Ross Detwiler (7-5, 3.25).
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Atlanta Braves