Arizona @ Atlanta preview
Turner Field
Last Meeting ( May 19, 2011 ) Atlanta 1, Arizona 2
THE STORY: With the way the Atlanta Braves and the Arizona Diamondbacks have been playing recently, this weekend’s three-game series could double as a playoff preview. The Braves have far less to worry about in terms of their playoff future after taking three of four from the San Francisco Giants to open up an eight-game gap in the wild card standings. The Diamondbacks benefited from that series as well, maintaining their lead over the Giants at 2 1/2 games in the NL West. But a tough series against the Philadelphia Phillies proved that Arizona still has a few things to solve. The Diamondbacks will try to answer a few questions when they send Daniel Hudson to the mound on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at Atlanta.
TV: 7:35 p.m. ET, FSS (Atlanta), FSAZ (Arizona)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Derek Lowe (7-11, 4.89 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks RH Daniel Hudson (12-8, 3.76 ERA).
On pace for his worst full-season ERA since 2004, Lowe has been a weak link on an otherwise impressive Atlanta pitching staff. The veteran sinkerballer has lost four of his last five turns and has posted one quality start in his last eight chances. Lowe has faced the Diamondbacks 19 times in his career, going 6-9 with a 4.14 ERA.
Hudson bounced back from his shortest outing of the season with a strong performance against the New York Mets last Saturday. The 24-year-old allowed four runs - two earned - and eight hits in eight innings to earn the win. Hudson has never faced the Braves.
ABOUT THE BRAVES (73-52): Tied for the second-best record in the National League, Atlanta remains 8 1/2 games behind the Phillies in the NL East. No matter, the wild card lead has been the Braves’ since before the All-Star break and they show no signs of relinquishing the top spot. The lead grew to eight games with Thursday’s 1-0 triumph in which rookie Mike Minor outdueled Tim Lincecum and Chipper Jones hit the decisive solo homer. The pitching staff is overflowing with young power arms both in the rotation and the bullpen. It is the offense that will be the question mark into the playoffs. One run is fine against the low-scoring Giants, but teams like Arizona, Milwaukee and Philadelphia figure to put more pressure on the staff. Dan Uggla went 0-for-3 on Thursday, snapping his latest hitting streak at three games.
ABOUT THE DIAMONDBACKS (69-55): Arizona does not have the same kind of pitching that has allowed Atlanta, Philadelphia and San Francisco to rise to the top. What the Diamondbacks do have is an MVP candidate in Justin Upton and a lineup with power from top to bottom. An improved bullpen has aided a young rotation and Arizona is taking advantage of the relative weakness of the NL West to gain control. The Diamondbacks don’t get to face the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies all the time, however, and this week they got to test themselves against the mighty Phillies. It did not go so well. After taking the first game of the series, 3-2, Arizona dropped the final two games by a combined score of 13-3. The Diamondbacks managed three hits in Thursday’s series finale.
FINAL PITCH: Braves reliever Craig Kimbrel broke the NL rookie record with his 37th save on Thursday. The 23-year-old is three shy of tying Neftali Feliz’s major league record from last season. Kimbrel has not allowed a run since June 11 - a span of 29 appearances - and has struck out 96 batters in 60 2/3 total innings.