Chicago @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 13, 2014 ) Atlanta 10, Chi. Cubs 7

The Chicago Cubs open the second half of the season clinging to the final National League wild-card spot, but the schedule presents a golden opportunity for Chicago to bolster its postseason standing. Starting with Friday’s opener of a three-game series at the Atlanta Braves, the Cubs play 17 consecutive games against sub-.500 competition.

The Cubs trail Pittsburgh by 5 ½ games for the first wild-card position, with three teams – the Mets, Giants and Diamondbacks – within five games of Chicago. Rookie third baseman Kris Bryant is in a slump, hitting only .220 since June 22, but first baseman Anthony Rizzo ranks third in the NL in on-base percentage (.413), OPS (.955) and offensive WAR (3.6). Atlanta overachieved for most of the first half but lost its final five games before the All-Star break, falling seven games behind Washington in the NL East. First baseman Freddie Freeman, who has missed the past 23 games with a bone bruise in his right wrist, is not expected back until early August.

TV: 7:35 p.m. ET, CSN Chicago, FSN South (Atlanta)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs RH Kyle Hendricks (4-4, 3.55 ERA) vs. Braves RH Julio Teheran (6-4, 4.56)

Hendricks ended the first half with a flourish, firing 20 1/3 scoreless innings across his final three starts while allowing 13 hits with two walks and 16 strikeouts. The 25-year-old won only two of his first 14 starts before going 2-0 in his final three outings. Hendricks, who went 7-2 with a 2.46 ERA as a rookie last season, is 10th in the NL in strikeouts-to-walks ratio (4.65).

Teheran has been outstanding at home, going 5-0 with a 2.04 ERA in eight starts at Turner Field with a .197 opponents batting average and a 0.92 WHIP. He struggled after starting the season 4-1, going 2-3 with a 5.12 ERA and seven homers allowed in 58 innings across his final nine starts of the first half. Teheran gave up three runs on two hits in seven innings July 8 at Milwaukee, a game in which the Braves’ bullpen gave up a lead in the eighth inning.

WALK-OFFS

1. Bryant, an All-Star selection in his first season, closed the first half 2-for-16 with eight strikeouts.

2. Atlanta RF Nick Markakis is tied for sixth in the NL in hits (98) but has yet to homer in 334 at-bats – 126 of those coming as the Braves’ cleanup hitter.

3. Cubs CF Dexter Fowler surpassed the 800-career hit mark by going 3-for-4 Sunday; Fowler is tied for fourth in the NL in runs scored (54).

PREDICTION: Cubs 4, Braves 1