Series preview: at Texas Rangers
When (TV): 8:05 p.m. Friday (FSSO), 1:05 p.m. Saturday (FOX), 3:05 p.m. Sunday (FSSO)
Radio: 680, 93.7, 106.7
Probable starting pitchers:
Friday: Braves LH Alex Wood (10-10, 2.90 ERA) vs. LH Derek Holland (1-0, 0.64)
Saturday: Braves RH Julio Teheran (13-11, 3.00) vs. RH Scott Baker (3-4, 5.52)
Sunday: Braves LH Mike Minor (6-10, 4.58 ERA) vs. RH Colby Lewis (9-13, 5.29)
About the Braves:
Batting: Justin Upton drove in three runs in the Braves' 6-2 win over the Nationals Wednesday, giving him 21 RBIs over his past 20 games. He has a career-high 96 RBIs on the season, third most in the NL behind Giancarlo Stanton (105) and Adrian Gonzalez (102). Jason Heyward had three hits Wednesday to raise his average to .304 (21-for-69) with a .360 on-pace percentage over his past 17 games, but in that time he's scored only five runs. Emilio Bonifacio snapped an 0-for-19 streak with a double in the eighth inning Tuesday night in Washington. Andrelton Simmons came off the bench Wednesday and singled in the ninth inning to give him only his third hit in 20 at-bats on this trip. Simmons is just 27-for-149 (.181) in 42 games since the All-Star break.
Pitching: The Braves have won only four of the past 10 games and two of those wins were in games started by Wood. The Braves have won four of his past six starts, while he's gone 3-1 with a 2.13 ERA and a .193 opponents' batting average. He had to settle for a no-decision in his past start against the Marlins. That's because for the second time in four starts Wood had a leadoff walk in the eighth inning cost him a chance at a win after Jordan Walden came in behind him and gave up the tying runs. The Braves rallied for a 4-3 win. Wood is getting the least run support of any Braves starter – only 2.2 runs per game while he's on the mound.
Miscellaneous: The Braves expect to get Evan Gattis back after he missed all three games of the Nationals' series with strep throat. He could serve as the designated hitter for two or all three games to keep from catching as he recuperates. This is a homecoming for Gattis, who grew up in the Dallas area.
About the Rangers:
Batting: The Rangers had lost 10 of their past 11 games entering Thursday, while averaging only 1.90 runs per game. They are on pace to lose 102 games in a season in which they've used 61 different players on their major league roster because of a rash of injuries. They've watched players from Prince Fielder to Shin Soo-Choo to Yu Darvish all go down with injuries. Adrian Beltre has been their most formidable offensive force and leads the team in batting average (.325), home runs (18), RBIs (71), on-base percentage (.388), slugging percentage (.497) and hits (159). He's also been their hottest hitter of late, going 10-for-his-past-27 (.370) with a double, a home run and three RBIs.
Pitching: Holland's last start – a 1-0 win over the Mariners – was the only win of the Rangers' previous 11 games entering Thursday and his return has been a rare bright spot for Texas. The veteran left-hander has made only two starts since his return from a knee injury and made the most of them, allowing just one earned run in 14 innings combined, walking none and striking out 11. He's allowed six hits in seven innings in each of his outings against the Mariners and Royals. Holland underwent micro-fracture surgery after tripping over his dog while climbing steps this past winter.
Miscellaneous: Ron Washington resigned a week ago after eight seasons as manager of the Rangers, citing personal reasons. The Rangers trail the overall series against the Braves 9-6 but have won six of the past nine meetings, including two of three in the Braves' most recent trip to Arlington in 2008.
- Carroll Rogers
