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(Sports Network) - The Atlanta Braves aim to continue their recent roll when the surging club continues its homestand this evening with the first of back- to-back games with the current owners of baseball's worst record, the Washington Nationals.

Atlanta has won a season-best four consecutive contests and began this seven- game residency by winning all three tests with Los Angeles over the weekend. The Braves outscored the Dodgers by a 16-3 margin during the set and completed the sweep with Sunday's 6-1 victory.

Jair Jurrjens (2-2) led the way with a stellar outing on the mound. The young Atlanta right-hander allowed one run and just three hits while racking up a career-best eight strikeouts over seven innings.

Mark Teixeira hit a key two-run homer in the eighth inning for the Braves, who swept Los Angeles for the first time since April of 2000, while Kelly Johnson had a solo shot earlier in the day.

Braves third baseman Chipper Jones went 2-for-3 to extend his hitting streak to 12 games, but was forced to leave the game with a right quadriceps injury and is doubtful to play tonight.

Washington is a woeful 5-14 thus far on the season and lost for the 14th time in 16 games with Sunday's 6-1 setback at Florida. Scott Olsen held the Nationals to one run and three hits through seven innings of work as the Marlins won the rubber match of the three-game set.

Florida's Hanley Ramirez snapped a 1-1 deadlock with a solo home run off Luis Ayala in the seventh, then belted a two-run shot against Saul Rivera in the eighth to help his club pull away.

The loss spoiled a strong outing from Nats starter Odalis Perez, who yielded one unearned run and five hits while striking out seven through the first six innings.

Austin Kearns accounted for Washington's lone run with a solo homer in the fifth inning.

The Nationals, who are 1-5 so far on an eight-game road trip, will face the Braves' Tim Hudson for the third time this month tonight.

Hudson dominated Washington back on April 11, as the sinker specialist twirled eight shutout innings and yielded just three hits in a 3-0 Atlanta victory. The veteran righty also pitched at Nationals Park on March 30 and allowed two runs and three hits in a seven-inning no decision.

In 10 career starts against the Nationals, Hudson is 6-1 with an astounding 1.11 earned run average over 72 2/3 combined innings.

The 32-year-old will be trying to shake off a subpar showing in his last start. Hudson lasted just three innings against Florida on Wednesday and was reached for four runs and six hits to suffer his first loss of the season.

Matt Chico opposed Hudson in that April 11 encounter and pitched very well for Washington in a losing cause. The young lefty, who will take the mound this evening, limited Atlanta to one run and five hits while walking just one over eight frames.

Chico wasn't as sharp his last time out, when he surrendered five runs on seven hits -- including three homers -- in five innings of a 5-2 loss to the Mets at Shea Stadium this past Wednesday.

The 24-year-old is just 2-3 in six lifetime starts against Atlanta, but has pitched to a 2.34 ERA over those games.

These National League East foes have split four meetings so far this season, all of which have been held in Washington. The Nationals lost in seven of their nine visits to Atlanta last year.