The week ahead: The Braves close out a nine-game homestand with a sampling of the best and worst of the NL Central. Defending NL champion St. Louis opens a three-game series on Monday before cellar-dwelling Chicago visits over the weekend. It will be the only Turner Field appearance for both teams. The Braves have a day off on Thursday.
Best pitching matchup: It doesn't get any easier for Alex Wood. After having to face rising Miami star Jose Fernandez in back-to-back starts, Wood on Saturday draws Chicago's Jeff Samardzija, who is pitching about as well as anyone even if he can't win a game. Despite a 2.93 ERA, Wood is 2-4 primarily because the Braves average two runs in support when he pitches. He'll get no sympathy from Samardzija (0-3, 1.98), who just became the first major-leaguer in more than 100 years to open a season with five consecutive starts of seven innings or more while allowing two runs or less and going winless.
Who's hot: Cardinals OF Matt Holliday just completed a .417 (10-for-24) homestand. … St. Louis C Yadier Molina has a .321 career average against the Braves with 30 RBIs in 49 starts. … Cubs SS Starlin Castro led the team lead with 14 RBIs and was tied for the lead in home runs (4).
Who's not: Braves OF Justin Upton has a career .193 average against St. Louis in 40 career games. … St. Louis OF Jon Jay just broke out of a 0-for-15 streak with a three-hit game against Milwaukee. … The Cubs have been hitting 29 points lower on the road (.222) than at Wrigley Field (.251). The team is in the midst of a 19-game stretch with 14 games on the road. … Chicago 2B Darwin Barney closed out April hitting .136 with one extra-base hit in 44 at-bats.
Notes: New St. Louis SS Jhonny Peralta hit six home runs in April, the most ever for a Cardinals shortstop. Edgar Renteria hit five homers in 2000. … The Cardinals have lost five of their last six games at Turner Field. … St. Louis is in the midst of a nine-game road trip. The team is in a 26-game stretch with 20 dates on the road. … Cardinals 1B Matt Adams led the NL in April with 13 multi-hit games, followed by Molina with 12. … Cardinals RHP Shelby Miller, who faces the Braves on Tuesday, has recovered from an 0-2 start (8 runs allowed in 11 1/3 innings) to win three straight (four runs allowed in 23 innings). Miller finished third in last year's NL rookie of the year voting. … Chicago has not won a series in 14 tries dating back to Sept. 9-11 last season. … Entering the weekend, the Cubs were 1-12 when scoring three runs on less. They have been outscored 13-6 in the ninth inning. … The Braves took last year's series with the Cubs 5-1. … Cubs outfielders have one assist thus far. Braves OF Jason Heyward alone has three. … Cubs' RHP Jason Hammel, who the Braves face Friday, went 4-1 in April, the best first month by a Cub since Greg Maddux won five in 2006. … Chicago's bullpen entered the weekend with a streak of 14 scoreless innings.
