Baltimore @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 1, 2011 ) Baltimore 0, Atlanta 4

THE STORY: Atlanta goes for its fifth straight victory in the second of a three-game series against Baltimore at Turner Field. The Braves are 13 games over .500 for the first time and have won nine of 11, but haven’t made up ground on NL East-leading Philadelphia, which leads Atlanta by four games. The Orioles have lost four straight and mustered just one hit in Friday's 4-0 defeat.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, MASN (Baltimore), SPSO (Atlanta)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Orioles RH Jake Arrieta (9-4, 4.50) vs. Braves RH Tim Hudson (6-6, 3.51). Arrieta won three of four starts in June and has a 3.28 ERA during that stretch. He continues to issue too many walks (11 in 24 2/3 innings) against only 12 strikeouts, and has allowed 12 home runs in 88 innings. But lefties are hitting only .221 against Arrieta, whose ERA is the same at home and on the road. This will be his first career appearance against Atlanta. Hudson has not yielded a run in his last two starts, during which he allowed only eight hits and struck out 16 in 14 innings. He received no decision last time against San Diego when the bullpen couldn't hold a 1-0 lead. Opponents are batting .231 against Hudson, and only .194 at Turner Field. He's made 11 career starts against the Orioles and has a 9-2 record with two shutouts and a 2.53 ERA.

ABOUT THE BRAVES (48-35): Chipper Jones broke an 0-for-16 skid with an RBI single Friday and is batting .400 (26-for-65) with runners in scoring position. Jason Heyward is 11-for-35 over his last nine games (.314) and has raised his average to .234, the highest it’s been since May 6. Brian McCann’s five-game hitting streak ended Friday, but he’s still 9-for-20 over those five games. Dan Uggla took another step backward Friday when he struck out four times; he had been 2-for-6 the previous two games. Atlanta’s starting pitchers have recorded 52 quality starts, only three behind Philadelphia for the league lead.

ABOUT THE ORIOLES (35-44): Adam Jones ended an 0-for-11 streak with a single that broke up Jair Jurrjens’ no-hit bid Friday night. Nick Markakis saw his 19-game hitting streak end with a 0-for-4 night. Nolan Reimold may not get a chance to play against Atlanta; he’s almost exclusively used against left-handers. Reimold was 2-for-4 with a long homer in the finale against St. Louis on Thursday, his first start since June 19, but is batting .280 on a team that’s struggling to score. Baltimore recalled left-hand reliever Pedro Viola from Double-A Bowie to replace southpaw Brian Matusz. Viola was 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA and two saves at Bowie.

FINAL PITCH: Atlanta’s Martin Prado took batting practice for the first time in 3½ weeks since going on the DL with a staph infection. Prado may do a minor-league rehab assignment next week and possibly return to the Atlanta roster for the three-game series with Philly the weekend before the All-Star break.