Braves' opponent: San Francisco Giants
Keep an eye on: The monthly totals. The Giants won their 19th game of May Wednesday, the most of any major league team, which includes an eight-game winning streak. The Giants started another streak with a three-game sweep of the Brewers in Milwaukee. The Giants are hitting .298 in May, which leads the majors, and have scored 129 runs, third most in the majors for the month.
Who's hot: Nori Aoki went 9-for-14 (.643) in a three-game series against his former team, the Brewers. He had a four-hit game in the opener on Monday at Miller Park, including a home run.
Who's not: Angel Pagan needed a 2-for-4 Wednesday in Milwaukee to pull himself out of a 4-for-24 rut.
Braves connection: The Braves will face Tim Hudson Friday night for just the second time in his 17-year-career. Hudson faced the Braves once with Oakland, June 10, 2003 holding them to two runs in eight innings in a no-decision, before getting traded to Atlanta in December of 2004. He spent the next nine seasons pitching for the Braves. Hudson is coming off an eight-run outing at the hands of the Rockies, but it was at hitter-friendly Coors Field. Hudson had allowed just three earned runs in 11 2/3 innings over his previous two starts.
In the news: The Giants designated third baseman Casey McGehee for assignment on Sunday and he ultimately accepted a Triple-A assignment. McGehee won comeback player of the year last year in Miami but was hitting .200 with nine RBIs in 35 games for the Giants. Rookie Matt Duffy has taken over for him at third base. Duffy is leading the Giants with a .429 batting average with runners in scoring position, while going 15-for-35 with four doubles a home run and 19 RBIs.
