Losing this series was certainly a punch to the gut of Atlanta's quest for a Wild Card spot. They continued to stagger to the finish line with the Cardinals stepping on their heels trying to trip them up. The good news is they're still ahead by a game and are headed home to wrap up the regular season.

Coming into this series, I personally expected winning at least two out of three. It figures, though, that the Braves were only able to beat the best pitcher the Nationals threw out there. They had beaten Chien-Ming Wang twice earlier this year, so after the Braves beat Stephen Strasburg, you had to like their chances, right? It's a mystery to me how they lost to Wang despite their success earlier this year. However, the end of Friday's game was plenty fun to watch.

Sunday's game was just full of fail when they loaded the bases with no outs and didn't score. I'm not surprised when that happens anymore; that was the game right there. If anyone would've gotten a hit there, I think it would've been a completely different ballgame.

Tim Hudson pitched great until he cramped up, but Brandon Beachy struggled again; the Braves have lost his last five starts. Not a good sign.

Braves 1-4 hitters Saturday and Sunday: 3 for 31. 0 for 16 Sunday. Bleh.

Kris Medlen is finally back. YAY! This was my first opportunity at actually seeing him pitch. Last year, I could only follow on Gameday. He looked awesome.

I found it hard not to take exception to Michael Morse's home run celebration, but won't say anything else since some people might be sensitive to certain four-letter words.

Braves wrap up the season against the Phillies starting Monday. Let's beat them, please and get to the playoffs!!