Braves sign veteran pitcher Lopez

St. Louis — The Braves signed a former 15-game winner Friday. He’s also a former 18-game loser who’s coming back from “Tommy John” elbow surgery.

Right-hander Rodrigo Lopez, 32, signed a minor-league contract that includes a 2009 option with major-league terms, if the Braves decide to keep him.

He’s a close friend of Mexican countryman Jorge Campillo, and the Braves pitcher asked the team to take a look at Lopez and see if they might be interested.

Lopez threw for Braves manager Bobby Cox and pitching coach Roger McDowell two weeks ago when the team was in Arizona. General manager Frank Wren said the Braves monitored his progress since then before offering him a contract.

The Braves will send Lopez to Florida to pitch for their Gulf Coast League team for the rest of the season and probably bring him to spring training before deciding whether to pick up the option.

Lopez has a 65-65 career record that included a 15-12 season with a 4.90 ERA in 2005 with Baltimore, when he pitched a career-high 209 1/3 innings. He was 9-18 with a 5.90 ERA for the Orioles in 2006, when he led the majors in losses.

Lopez missed much of the 2007 season with Colorado for elbow problems including a torn flexor tendon. He had ligament-transplant (“Tommy John”) surgery 12 months ago.

Kotchman update

First baseman Casey Kotchman missed his third game Friday since going on bereavement leave to be with his mother, who is hospitalized with an undisclosed medical condition in St. Peterburg, Fla.

Cox was told she was in stable condition, but in a lot of pain. The manager spoke with Kotchman by phone on Friday.

“He’s really shaken up,” said Cox, who told Kotchman to stay with his mother as long as he needed to.

Players can spend a minimum of three days and maximum of seven days on bereavement leave without going on the disabled list.

Prado gets another start

With Kotchman away and backup first baseman Greg Norton nursing a sore left arm, utility player Martin Prado made his second consecutive start at first base in Friday’s series opener at St. Louis.

Prado had played only one inning in two games earlier this season before he was thrust into the starting assignment Thursday after Norton was scratched an hour before the series finale against the Mets.

Prado took ground balls at first base during the last batting practice group Thursday, after Cox told him he might need to replace Norton. It was the first time in three months that Prado had fielded grounders at first base.

Woeful work since break

Before Friday, the Braves’ 5.90 ERA since the All-Star break was nearly a run higher than the National League’s next-worst (Cincinnati, 5.07). The Braves had a 3.69 ERA before the break, second-best in the NL behind the Dodgers (3.64).

Meanwhile, Braves hitters had a major league-low seven homers in 667 at-bats in August. Before Friday, nine NL teams had hit at least 20 homers in August.

Mark Kotsay was the only Brave with more than one homer in August. He had two.

Braves outfielders have hit just 23 homers all season, less than half the league average and 10 fewer than the next-lowest total. Seven NL teams had at least 55 home runs from outfielders before Friday.

Francoeur out of lineup

Right fielder Jeff Francoeur was out of the lineup Friday, after going 1-for-10 in the New York series.

His average was back down to .230 after going 2-for-18 with one RBI in a five-game span since his 4-for-5, two-RBI game in a win against the Giants on Aug. 13, the Braves’ only win in 11 games before Friday.