Stephen Strasbrug faces his first test of pitching against a good team as the Nationals take on Tim Hudson and the Atlanta Braves. Strasburg’s call up to the majors should have marked a turning point for the Nationals toward better competition in the NL East race. Instead, they’ve lost five games to the Braves starting on June 8th, and are now 11 games out in last place in the NL East. Strasburg lived up to his hype so far. He pitched one game in which he walked five batters, but didn’t walk anyone in three others. Opponents have a combined OPS against him of .519. With men in scoring position, they hit just .143 against him with four strikeouts in seven at bats. Tim Hudson, in about four times the innings, has four more strikeouts than Strasburg, and I suspect Stephen will pass him tonight. Hudson owns a 1.87 ERA at home, where he strikes out batters at a higher rate than on the road, 6.1 per 9 at home versus 3.0 on the road.

The Twins hold a 1/2 game lead over the Tigers as the two teams meet at Target Field. Jeremy Bonderman takes on Francisco Liriano. Bonderman may be hurt by his defense this season. His three true outcomes are good, and his FIP is 3.77, over 0.4 runs better than his ERA. Liriano’s control is getting better every month, with him walking just six batters in 27 June innings.

Finally, Ubaldo Jimenez takes on Kevin Correia as the Rockies try to close their six game gap with the Padres. Jimenez is coming off his only non-quality start of the year. He’s pitching against a poor offensive team in a park that favors pitchers, so I suspect he’ll get back on track tonight. He’s already 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA against San Diego, meaning the Padres are one of the more successful teams against him. Correia got off to a good start in April, but since May his ERA stands at 5.89

Enjoy!