WASHINGTON NATIONALS

The skinny: Entering the weekend, the Nationals were in first place in the NL East and among the hottest teams in baseball. So the Braves’ recent dominance in the series will be tested in this four-game series that comes as the final four of 17 games in 17 days for Atlanta.

Series history: Braves lead 332-294 (vs. Expos and Nationals). Braves are 7-3 in past 10 and 22-8 since Aug. 2012. Last 10 games (through Thursday): 8-2 State of the union: As a president might say, the state of the union is sound. The Nationals have won 10 of 13, outscoring opponents 70-28, and just handed the San Francisco Giants their first series loss since early May. The Nats also managed to do it while Bryce Harper and Gio Gonzalez are on the disabled list.

Three things: 1) The new left fielder for the Nationals is Ryan Zimmerman. The Nats intend to move Zimmerman and his bad arm/shoulder back to third base when Harper comes off the disabled list. Zimmerman admits it’s a work in progress in left field after making an acrobatic catch Wednesday night: “I’m kind of learning on the fly.”; 2) Harper (thumb) is scheduled back in early July, which means the Braves won’t see him before Aug. 8; 3) What’s fueled the turnaround for the Nats, in first place in the NL East this past week for the first time since early April: They received 12 consecutive quality starts before Thursday’s loss in San Francisco, and over the previous eight games before Thursday their starters had 54 strikeouts and one walk.

Nationals reliever Rafael Soriano and catcher Wilson Ramos celebrate Washington’s 2-1 victory last Tuesday over the Giants in San Francisco. It was the Giants’ first series loss since early May.