Nats look to rookie Cole to stop slide in debut, plus Scherzer update (with lineups)

ATLANTA - Right-hander A.J. Cole is set to make his major league debut at Turner Field tonight. His task: Beat the Braves and stop the Nationals' six-game freefall.

The 6-foot-5 Cole is one of baseball highly regarded pitching prospects. The Nationals originally selected the 23-year-old in the fourth round of the First-Year Player Draft in 2010. He was sent to Oakland as part of the trade to acquire left-hander Gio Gonzalez and then brought back to Washington in three way trade involving first baseman/outfielder Michael Morse.

Cole has a 2.40 ERA this year in three starts without a decision at Triple-A Syracuse. He was 7-0 there last year with a 3.43 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 63 innings, and 6-3 with a 2.92 ERA at Double-A Harrisburg.

Nationals manager Matt Williams was impressed with Cole's last outing of the spring against the Tigers, when he struck out five, including two-time American League MVP Miguel Cabrera twice.

"He's working on his secondary pitches and that's the key for him," Williams said after the game. "He runs the fastball in there in the mid-90s (mph) and as a starter, he can do that for extending innings. But the key for him is the breaking ball and changeup.

"He's close. If there's something that would happen (during the season), he's somebody that we would think about."

Something did happen - swelling in right-hander Max Scherzer's right thumb wouldn't subside in time for tonight's start. Williams indicated yesterday that Scherzer may be ready to pitch before his next scheduled outing on Sunday at Citi Field.

"I would think that before another 5 days he'd be OK to go," Williams said. "But there's a progression there, too. We've gotta get him on a bump and let him throw all his pitches and make sure he can do all that.

"We'll make sure he's good to go when he's good to go. I wouldn't think it would be a full skip until his next rotation turn."

In order to make room for Cole, the Nats optioned right-hander Rafael Martin to Syracuse. Martin made his own major league debut in loud fashion by striking out five consecutive Red Sox hitters at Fenway Park in two innings of relief on April 15. But the 30-year-old rookie has struggled since, allowing three homers with 9.00 ERA in just three innings.

For the Nationals:

CF Denard Span
SS Ian Desmond
LF Jayson Werth
RF Bryce Harper
1B Ryan Zimmerman
C Jose Lobaton
3B Danny Espinosa
2B Dan Uggla
RHP A.J. Cole

For the Braves:

RF Nick Markakis
SS Andrelton Simmons
1B Freddie Freeman
C A.J. Pierzynski
3B Alberto Callaspo
LF Kelly Johnson
2B Jace Peterson
CF Cameron Maybin
RHP Julio Tehran