Braves still confident despite tenuous hold on first place

By Carroll Rogers

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Braves have played the last three games with their NL East lead down to one game over the Phillies. They’ve lost two of those three, including Monday’s 3-1 dud against the Pirates.

Yet, after the Phillies split a doubleheader with the Marlins on Monday, the Braves still hold on to first place in the division by a 1/2 game.

With first place -- regardless of how ugly it’s been for the Braves to maintain it lately -- comes confidence.

“We don’t really have a strut on the field, but we definitely have a swagger in the locker room,” Matt Diaz said after Monday’s loss. “We’re not losing confidence at all. We know we go in the division and control our own fate. That’s the beauty of being the team that a lot of teams are chasing, whether it be one game or 10 games. You control your own fate.”

The Braves turn to Tim Hudson on Tuesday against the Pirates to do what Jair Jurrjens did Saturday, win on this trip and keep the Phillies at bay. The Braves have managed to do it since May 31, when they took first place from the Phillies.

“Even tied, people have got to beat you,” Braves backup catcher David Ross said. “It’s always nice to be chased. We haven’t even played good ball lately. We had a 5-2 homestand and didn’t even feel like we were playing our best ball.”

Martin Prado conceded Monday that the Braves might be pressing after they went 0-for-6 in scoring position and left 11 runners on base. But he said they’ll just keep doing what they’ve been doing: moving forward.

“I feel like everybody is trying too hard,” Prado said. “At the same time, we can’t think about that. We’ve got to move on and start over again with Huddy. This is going to be the best chance to get back on track.”

Lowe passes final test

A bullpen session Monday morning confirmed for Derek Lowe what he thought after playing catch a day earlier -- that he’d be ready to go Wednesday against the Pirates.

Lowe said he felt “really good” after throwing his first bullpen session in three weeks.

“The fact I could throw one and I could even play catch -- those are all encouraging signs,” Lowe said. “It’s getting better.”

Lowe missed the first start of his career Friday against the Marlins because of inflammation due to a bone chip in his right elbow. An X-ray revealed the bone chip a month ago, Lowe said, and an MRI on Thursday confirmed that it was not resting on a ligament, meaning he could pitch without doing any long-term damage.

He hadn’t picked up a ball in five days because of the pain. But given the rest and the effects of a cortisone shot, Lowe was back to feeling optimistic Wednesday.

“The only thing now is in between innings, that’s the only thing you can’t re-enact,” Lowe said. “But with heat packs there’s all kinds of stuff you can do.”

Kimbrel, Martinez to return

The Braves will add two arms to their bullpen Tuesday with the return of Christian Martinez and Craig Kimbrel from Triple-A Gwinnett after the G-Braves’ season ended Monday afternoon in Charlotte.

The Braves will welcome the extra arms while in the midst of playing 20 straight games. Their next off day is Sept. 16. Kimbrel is 2-0 with an 0.96 ERA in nine outings with the Braves. He does have 11 walks in those 9 1/3 innings, but he also has 17 strikeouts and a .143 opponents’ batting average.

Martinez pitched four quality innings in relief of Lowe in an Aug. 29 comeback win over Florida. He has a 3.05 ERA in 13 games, with only one walk and 15 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings.

McLouth starts two in a row

Nate McLouth earned his second consecutive start Monday on the merits of two hard-hit balls Sunday and playing in PNC Park, where he spent the better part of five seasons with the Pirates, Braves manager Bobby Cox said.

“He’s around familiar surroundings,” Cox said of McLouth, who was robbed of a grand slam by center fielder Cameron Maybin and lined out in his other at-bat Sunday. “He hit two bullets. His at-bats are real good right now.”

McLouth went 1-for-4 on Monday, including 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position. He started against the left-handed Brian Burres in part because of Rick Ankiel’s struggles against lefties. He’s 4-for-14 (.167) with 14 strikeouts.