The folks over at WSB (Channel 2) got some footage of the leg injury of Chipper Jones, and it is nasty! Sports Director Zach Klein was nice enough to send me the embed code for the video (below), but you can also watch it on their site.

Caution, not for anyone who squeamish around really large nasty bruises. I don't know how Larry can walk with this thing.

Yikes! Get better Chipper.

From the desk of the Unreal GM of the Atlanta Braves, @fauxfrankwren... The Braves are a real M*A*S*H unit right now.

The Nationals head down south tonight for the first of 18 meetings with the Braves. First pitch is scheduled for 7:35. Tonight's game will pit Tim Hudson against Ross Detwiler. Detwiler was hit hard by the Padres in his last turn, so hopefully the Braves can keep up the pressure on Washington's lefty. Lineups are as follows:

1. Michael Bourn, CF
2. Martin Prado, 3B
3. Freddie Freeman, 1B
4. Dan Uggla, 2B
5. Matt Diaz, LF
6. Jason Heyward, RF
7. David Ross, C
8. Jack Wilson, SS
9. Tim Hudson, P

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After a 7 game road trip that started with a promising 2-1 series win over the Tampa Bay Rays, the Atlanta Braves limp back to Turner Field after being swept in 4 games at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds. The series with the Reds saw the Braves' formidable offense hit the skids in a big way, as they managed a grand total of 8 runs over the 4 game set. Do the math, and 2 runs a game isn't gonna cut it.

In order to turn things around, the Braves will have to find a way to hit the best pitching staff in baseball. The Nationals enter today's series with the best ERA in the majors, and it's not that close. On the season, the Nats' starters and bullpen has a collective ERA of 2.90 (The next lowest is the Dodgers at 3.23). The scary thing is that they're not performing too far over their heads either, as evidenced by their MLB-best 2.99 FIP and second-best 3.39 xFIP. Their staff's 8.1 WAR is 1.4 WAR greater than the 2nd place team in MLB (the Rangers). I could spend this entire preview listing pitching categories that the Nats are excelling at, but you get the picture: their pitching is top-notch.

The Nationals' offense is far and away the team's weak link. The Nats rank 25th in MLB in terms of runs scored with 163. By comparison, the Braves have scored 221. The Nationals' offense is paced by former Brave Adam LaRoche, who has shattered his reputation as a slow-starter by charging out of the gates to a .297/.392/.545 line with 7 homers and 32 RBI. Around the horn, the Nationals start LaRoche at first, Danny Espinosa at second, power-hitting short stop Ian Desmond, and face-of-the-franchise third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Steve Lombardozzi has played the utility role well this season, and will probably see starts during the series. The outfield features Xavier Nady in left, former-Brave Rick Ankiel in center, and ballyhooed stud prospect Bryce Harper in right. Harper has been the talk of baseball for the past few weeks, and rightly so, as the 19 year old has posted a .264/.343/.471 line over 23 games. He's also managed 6 doubles, 3 triples, 2 homers, and 2 steals. The Braves will have to be careful of both his power and speed. Jesus Flores will do the bulk of the catching for the Nats after an injury cost Wilson Ramos the rest of his season.

Pitching matchups after the jump...

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Thank Fredi we're home! I can't believe the Braves are going to play a home game... six straight home games. I'm declaring this good news for the Braves. They'll be facing Ross Detwiler with Tim Hudson on the mound. The Braves have handled Detwiler pretty well. Even Huddy has a hit off of him ... even Jack Wilson is 3-for-4 off of him (I assume he'll be in the lineup with Huddy on the mound, and this time, that might not be a bad thing).

And Huddy has handled the Nats lineup, and has handled the Natinals in his career, brandishing a 14-and-3 lifetime mark with a 2.05 ERA. The Braves will need every bit of luck they can muster to pull themselves out of this funk.

Vs. stats after the jump:

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There are not many good things to say about this series, as the Reds utilized the long ball to sweep the Braves. With that said, here are some notes from the series

The tale of two Mike's. In game one, Mike Minor faced off against Mike Leake. Minor allowed four solo home runs, while Leake pitched dominant innings. Both pitchers entered the game struggling, but only one had their struggles continue. The Braves badly need Minor to get back on track.

Drew Stubbs had only five hits during the series, but he made them count. Three of his hits went for home runs, including two in game two of the series.

Michael Bourn hit three home runs during the four-game series. He came into the series with 14 CAREER home runs. That's just crazy.

Zack Cozart entered the series hitting .232/.288/.384. He leaves it hitting .251/.302/.425. Cozart had a big series, going 7-14 at the plate with two home runs.

Strangely enough with how potent the Reds offense was, the Braves were able to keep Joey Votto in check. He went 3-13, but did walk three times as well.

Tommy Hanson pitched very well in game three, allowing only four hits and one run while striking out five in six innings of work. Unfortunately, the offense couldn't back him up.

All in all, the series featured 16 home runs in four games. SIx by the Braves, and ten from the Reds. Safe to say that homers ruled the series.

Two of those home runs were more significant than the rest. The first was Todd Frazier's walk-off in game three against Cristhian Martinez with Craig Kimbrel sitting in the bullpen. The second was Devin Mesoraco's grand-slam in the series finale that really sealed things for the Reds.

The Braves offense clearly suffered without Chipper Jones (besides a pinch-hit appearance) and Brian McCann for all four games. Hopefully, both of those guys are back in the lineup sooner than later.

Your one-page daily morning overview of Atlanta Braves news:

Braves quotes after being swept in 4 at Cincy | Atlanta Braves
Fredi Gonzalez, on replacing Delgado with Medlen, bases loaded and one out: "I just thought the inning unraveled a little bit on him, right from the very beginning on the leadoff check swing that could have gone either way on Phillips, then a wild pitch, and then … it just got out of hand. Tough position to put Medlen in, with no wiggle room. He got a ball out over the plate and he hit it out for a home run."

Slumping Braves get slammed and swept at Cincinnati | Atlanta Braves
"Obviously I expected to go in there and throw one pitch and get out of it with a double play, but I fell behind and had to go at him," said Medlen, who gave it up on a 2-and-0 fastball. "I feel bad for Randall. You hate to go in there and give up someone else’s runs with the bases loaded. But like I said, I fell behind and had to go after him."

Reds honor Chipper before series finale | braves.com: News
The Reds honored Braves third baseman Chipper Jones before Thursday's series finale with a commemorative base and a video tribute to the Braves' future Hall of Famer. The teams have played every game this four-game series with the commemorative bases, which feature Jones' name, his uniform No. 10 and logos of the Reds and Braves on the side.

Hinske makes start for Freeman at first | braves.com: News
Manager Fredi Gonzalez said Freeman had trouble picking up a throw from shortstop Tyler Pastornicky on Wednesday night. "He flinched and couldn't catch it," said Gonzalez. "He came in after the game really frustrated. This was a ball right to the chest. It's like when somebody throws you a ball and it startles you but you catch it anyway. That's the way he caught it. After the game he said he couldn't see the ball and was having trouble."

McCann misses third straight game with flu | braves.com: News
The flu bug has hit the Braves hard, as catcher Brian McCann sat out a third straight game on Thursday. Manager Fredi Gonzalez said McCann's condition is worse than it had been the previous two days and that reserve Matt Diaz is also feeling the effects.

Chipper frustrated by slow healing of nasty contusion | Atlanta Braves
"I don’t know what to tell you," said Jones, who missed his sixth consecutive start since being struck just above the ankle by a one-hop grounder Friday at Tampa Bay. "I figured I would be back playing in no more than three or four days. Feeling the way I do today, I think it’s going to be a little bit yet."

Venters OK after taking line drive off leg | braves.com: News
"It's not too bad at all," Venters said. "Apparently I've got to hit it off of me or the other team to get anybody out. But I feel fine."

Ex Braves manager Bobby Cox humbled by Selma - Sports - fresnobee.com
The former Atlanta Braves manager made a rare hometown appearance Thursday at the annual Selma Athletic Hall of Fame banquet, posing for pictures, signing autographs and catching up with with old friends at the Spike & Rail Restaurant. Cox, 71, actually was inducted last year but couldn't attend. The 1959 Selma High graduate said it was his first visit to Selma in a decade.