Arizona @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 27, 2012 ) Arizona 4, Atlanta 6

The future arrives for Arizona in Thursday's series finale at Turner Field as 21-year-old Trevor Bauer, the No. 3 pick in the 2011 draft, makes his major-league debut against Atlanta. After a stellar college career at UCLA, Bauer ripped through the minors, going 12-3 in 23 starts with 159 strikeouts in 118 2/3 innings. Atlanta counters with Jair Jurrjens, who spent nearly two months in the minor leagues but pitched well in his return to the majors Friday at Boston.

One of Bauer’s biggest challenges will be slowing Jason Heyward. The Atlanta right fielder, who won NL player-of-the-week honors last week, extended his hitting streak to 12 games with his 12th homer of the season in Wednesday’s 6-4 Atlanta victory. Chipper Jones added a two-run homer, giving him 1,589 career RBIs. Jones is third all-time among third baseman in RBIs, trailing only George Brett (1,596) and Mike Schmidt (1,595).

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network (nationwide), Fox Sports Arizona (Arizona), SportSouth (Atlanta).

PITCHING MATCHUP: Arizona RH Trevor Bauer (NR) vs. Atlanta RH Jair Jurrjens (1-2, 6.75 ERA).

Bauer’s unorthodox delivery and deep repertoire of pitches – he throws multiple variations of a slider and changeup – have drawn plenty of attention. It is hard to argue with the results to this point. Bauer went 7-1 in eight starts at Double-A, then won four of eight starts at Triple-A before being promoted to the majors.

Making his first major-league start in nearly two months Friday, Jurrjens held the Red Sox to three hits and one run in 7 2/3 stellar innings. It was a far cry from four April starts that resulted in a 9.37 ERA and a ticket to Triple-A. Jurrjens displayed effective control on both sides of the plate against Boston.

WALK-OFFS

1. Atlanta closer Craig Kimbrel struck out the side on 12 pitches in the ninth Wednesday, picking up his NL-leading 22nd save.

2. The Braves are 5-1 against the Diamondbacks this season.

3. Bauer was born seven months after Jones was selected with the first overall pick in the 1990 draft.