Braves' opponent: Los Angeles Dodgers
Keep an eye on: The Dodgers outfield. Carl Crawford finished his minor league rehab assignment Sunday (hitting .367 in 30 at-bats) and is scheduled to join the Dodgers in Atlanta. Manager Don Mattingly planned to keep Andre Ethier, Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig as his starting outfield, using Crawford primarily as a pinch hitter and to give regulars a day off. Pederson, 21, was the starting left fielder for the National League in Tuesday's All-Star game, replacing the injured Matt Holliday. He is only the third rookie in National League history to hit 20 home runs before July 1, joining Albert Pujols (21 for 2001 Cardinals) and Wally Berger (22 for 1930 Boston Braves.)
Who's hot: Adrian Gonzalez went 2-for-4 on Sunday to give him three straight multi-hit games, including a two-homer game against the Nationals Friday night. He has batted 8-for-15 (.533) in his past four games.
Who's not: Jimmy Rollins is batting just .208 on the season and .196 (9-for-46) in the month of July.
Braves connection: Former Brave Brandon Beachy is starting for the Dodgers Monday night and will be making only his second start in the majors since August 20, 2013 with the Braves. Beachy has made only six big league starts since June of 2012 when he tore his ulnar collateral for the first time. He made it only five starts into a comeback from Tommy John in 2012 before elbow problems resurfaced and he was diagnosed with another torn ligament in spring training the following year. Beachy went 1-1 with a 2.41 ERA in five starts during his minor league rehabilitation with the Dodgers.
In the news: Zack Grienke extended his scoreless innings streak to 42 2/3 innings with eight scoreless innings against the Washington Nationals on Sunday. Greinke is the fourth starter with 40-plus straight scoreless innings since Orel Hershiser's 59-inning streak ended in 1988. (R.A. Dickey, 44 2/3 straight in 2012, Brandon Webb 42 straight in 2007 and Clayton Kershaw 41 2/3 straight in 2014.) The Braves don't have to face Greinke or Clayton Kershaw, who have given up a combined one run in 47 innings this month (0.19 ERA).
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