(Sports Network) - Atlanta veteran Derek Lowe tries to end a personal drought and restart the Braves' win streak today when they head to Nationals Park for the finale of a three-game holiday weekend series against the host Washington Nationals.

The Braves entered Saturday's game having won five straight, but lost a lead and eventually dropped a 5-3 verdict to Washington, which got the 300th career home run from slugging outfielder Adam Dunn.

Lowe, who signed a free-agent contract in the offseason after most recently pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was 7-3 after downing Pittsburgh, 4-3, on June 9.

He was winless for his subsequent four starts in June, however, going 0-3 while being tagged for 33 hits and 20 runs in 17 2/3 innings.

The Dearborn, Michigan native faced the Nationals on April 10 and got a no- decision, but has a career's worth of success against them, going 5-2 with three saves in 14 appearances - eight starts - and a 2.97 earned run average in 57 2/3 innings.

For Washington, lefty Scott Olsen tries to snap a skid of his own.

A first-year member of the Nationals after beginning his big-league career with the Florida Marlins, Olsen picked up his lone win of the season on April 29 at Philadelphia, allowing six hits and a run in 5 2/3 innings.

He was 0-1 with a pair of no-decisions in three subsequent starts, then missed more than a month with shoulder problems.

His return came June 29 against the Marlins and ended in a no-decision, in which he pitched seven innings and gave up six hits and two runs in a 4-2 Washington loss.

Olsen last faced the Braves April 12 and took an 8-5 loss after allowing six hits and five runs in five innings.

He is 2-5 against them in his career, posting a 6.91 ERA over 12 appearances - 11 starts.

On Saturday, John Lannan (6-5) was sharp in posting his fourth straight victory. The lefty tossed eight innings and yielded three runs on nine hits and a walk. Mike MacDougal earned his fourth save of the year with a scoreless ninth.

Ryan Zimmerman had a two-run single and Josh Willingham added an RBI single in the pivotal eighth frame. The Nationals snapped a four-game slide and won for just the second time in eight games.

Tommy Hanson, searching for a fifth straight victory, was superb on the hill for Atlanta. The rookie right-hander limited the Nats to a single run and three hits, walking one and fanning five in seven innings.

However, the Braves bullpen wasted the effort and was tagged for four runs on four hits and two walks in the eighth. Nate McLouth, Chipper Jones and Garret Anderson knocked in the runs for Atlanta.

Atlanta has won five of its seven matchups with the Nats this season after Washington took 12 of the 18 meetings a year ago.