Series preview: vs. Phillies
When (TV): 7:35 p.m. Friday (FSSO), 7:10 p.m. Saturday (FSSO), 1:35 p.m. Sunday (FSSO)
Radio: 680, 93.7, 106.7
Probable starting pitchers:
Friday: Braves RH Ervin Santana (6-7, 3.14 ERA) vs. RH A.J. Burnett (6-8, 3.83 ERA)
Saturday: Braves RH Aaron Harang (9-6, 3.53) vs. LH Cole Hamels (3-5, 2.93)
Sunday: Braves LH Alex Wood (6-7, 3.36) vs. RH Kyle Kendrick (4-9, 4.62)
About the Braves
Batting: Chris Johnson hit three home runs in two days in Chicago last weekend before the All-Star break, giving him six homers for the season. He went 5-for-9 with seven RBIs in the last two games against the Cubs. He has 14 multi-hit games in his past 32 games dating back to June 9. B.J. Upton has hit .260 with a .296 on-base percentage since moving to the leadoff spot June 24. Before then, he was hitting .202 with a .272 on-base percentage. He's sitting on career RBI No. 499.
Pitching: Santana used a 10-3 win over the Phillies in the first game of a June 28 doubleheader to snap a three-game losing streak. He won back-to-back starts over the Phillies and Diamondbacks, while allowing four earned runs in 14 innings before dropping his last start before the All-Star break to the Mets 4-1 on July 9. He'll be pitching on eight days' rest. Manager Fredi Gonzalez shuffled his rotation to split up left-handers Mike Minor and Alex Wood coming out of the All-Star break.
Miscellaneous: The Braves completed their first four-game sweep over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park since 1964, when the two last faced each other June 27-29. The Braves outscored the Phillies 22-8 that series while posting a 1.75 ERA.
About the Phillies
Batting: When the Phillies finished a stretch of 13 losses in 16 games on July 6, they were averaging 3.75 runs per game. But while winning five of their last seven games before the break, including four in a row in Milwaukee, the Phillies averaged 5.29 runs per game. Cody Asche comes out of the break on a nine-game hitting streak, batting .306 (11-for-36) with four doubles, one homer and four RBIs over that span. Chase Utley had five multi-hit games in his past seven games before the break.
Pitching: Burnett has seven straight quality starts since the Nationals beat him around for eight runs in six innings June 4. He's only 3-3 despite a 2.94 ERA in that span because he received only 3.4 runs of support. Burnett out-dueled Wood and the Braves with seven shutout innings in a 1-0 win at Citizens Bank Park on April 17. For his career, he's 5-12 against the Braves, despite a 3.90 ERA.
Miscellaneous: The Phillies are 4-6 against the Braves this season but swept the Braves in their last trip to Turner Field June 16-18. Carlos Ruiz (concussion) has begun a minor league rehabilitation assignment and won't return until next week. Cliff Lee (elbow) isn't scheduled to return to action until July 21 against San Francisco.
Carroll Rogers
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