Series preview: vs Milwaukee Brewers
When (TV): 7:10 p.m. Monday-Thursday (SPSO)
Radio: 680, 93.7, 106.7
Probable starting pitchers:
Monday: Braves LH Mike Minor (1-2, 4.24 ERA) vs. RH Wily Peralta (4-2, 2.05 ERA)
Tuesday: Braves RH Julio Teheran (2-3, 2.20) vs. RH Yovani Gallardo (2-2, 3.07)
Wednesday: Braves RH Ervin Santana (4-1, 2.76) vs. RH Kyle Lohse (5-1, 2.88)
Thursday: Braves RH Aaron Harang (4-4, 2.98) vs. RH Matt Garza (2-4, 4.83)
About the Braves:
Batting: The Braves snapped a streak of four homerless games – their longest since Sept. 3-6, 2012 – with home runs from Freddie Freeman (No. 8) and Justin Upton (No. 10) on Sunday in St. Louis. Freeman's three hits and three RBIs added to his team-high total of 27 RBIs. Jordan Schafer played center field Sunday after B.J. Upton struck out four times Saturday, making him 4-for-19 with 13 strikeouts on the trip. Andrelton Simmons's four-game hitting streak (6-for-15) ended Sunday.
Pitching: Minor bounced back from giving up a season-high six earned runs against the Cardinals May 7 to pitch 6 2/3 innings of shutout work in San Francisco his last time out. Since Minor gave up five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings on April 6, 2011 at Miller Park, he has pitched well against the Brewers. He's given up only three earned runs in 20 innings, walked three and struck out 18.
Miscellaneous: The Braves opened the season by winning two of three against the Brewers at Miller Park. The Brewers proceeded to win nine in a row after the Braves left town.
About the Brewers:
Batting: Carlos Gomez hasn't played for five straight games, the first three while serving a suspension for his part in the brawl with the Pirates, one for lower back spasms and Sunday for a stomach bug. He is expected back to open the series in Atlanta. He is hitting only .225 (16-for-71) in 28 games for his career against the Braves, with three home runs – including the one off Paul Maholm his last trip to Atlanta Sept. 25 that caused the benches to clear.
Pitching: Peralta has given up no more than three earned runs in any of his eight starts this year and two or fewer in seven of them. Even so, the Brewers have lost each of his past two starts, despite his 2.08 ERA (three earned runs in 13 innings) during that time. Peralta has allowed only one earned run in 13 innings (0.69) in two career starters against the Braves, both of which came at Miller Park. He pitched seven two-hit shutout innings last June 21 in a 2-0 win over Julio Teheran.
Miscellaneous: The Brewers lost two of three to the Cubs at Wrigley Field over the weekend and scored only two runs in the past two days. They struck out 39 times in the series, including 14 times in each of the first two games.
- Carroll Rogers
