Series preview: Braves vs. Rockies
When (TV): 7:10 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 1:05 p.m. Thursday (WPCH)
Radio: 680, 93.7, 100.5
Probable starting pitchers:
Monday: Braves RH Tommy Hanson (9-4, 2.62 ERA) vs. RH Ubaldo Jimenez (3-7, 4.35)
Tuesday: Braves RH Derek Lowe (4-6, 4.16) vs. RH Jhoulys Chacin (8-5, 3.10)
Wednesday: Braves RH Jair Jurrjens (11-3, 1.89) vs. RH Aaron Cook (0-3, 4.66)
Thursday: Braves RH Tim Hudson (7-5, 3.57) vs. RH Juan Nicasio (3-1, 4.10).
About the Braves:
• Batting: Brian McCann is 24-for-54 (.444) with eight homers and 14 RBIs in his past 16 home games…. Alex Gonzalez is 9-for-66 (.136) in his past 18 games with two RBIs and a .186 OBP … Dan Uggla is 10-for-66 (.152) in his past 17 games with three homers, 10 RBIs, three walks and 20 strikeouts….In the past four seasons, Chipper Jones is 30-for-88 (.341) with three homers in 24 games against Colorado.
• Pitching: Hanson was 4-0 with a 2.16 ERA in four June starts, including a win Tuesday at Seattle in his first start following a 15-day DL stint for shoulder tendinitis. Since July 3, 2010, the right-hander is 12-10 with a 2.50 ERA, .203 opponents' average, 180 strikeouts and 58 walks in 202 innings. Hanson lost his only start against Colorado, allowing four runs in five innings as a rookie in a July 2009 game at Denver.
• Miscellaneous: Against the Rockies, Lowe is 9-8 with a 4.37 ERA in 20 starts, Jurrjens is 4-1 with a 4.02 ERA in seven starts, and Hudson is 3-2 with a 4.86 ERA in six starts…. Braves with more than five at-bats against Jimenez include Jones (4-for-16), McCann (3-for-16), Uggla (1-for-7, four strikeouts) and Nate McLouth (2-for-17, one homer). McLouth has the only homer off Jimenez by a current Brave.
About the Rockies:
• Batting: SS Troy Tulowitzki was 30-for-93 (.323) with six homers and 24 RBIs in his past 23 games before Sunday, including three homers and seven RBIs in three games Thursday through Saturday…. CF Carlos Gonzalez was 36-for-89 (.404) with 14 extra-base hits and 11 RBIs in his past 22 games before Sunday…. OF Ryan Spilborghs has hit .432 (16-for-37) against the Braves with six doubles, three homers and 13 RBIs, including 10-for-24 with two homers at Turner Field.
• Pitching: The last time he faced the Braves, Jimenez pitched a no-hitter with six walks and seven strikeouts at Turner Field on April 17, 2010. He was 1-3 with a 5.06 ERA in five previous starts against the Braves. Jimenez struggled early this season, going 0-5 with a 5.86 ERA in nine starts in April and May. But he went 3-2 with a 2.45 ERA in six June starts…. Cook is 1-1 with a 4.55 ERA in 11 games (nine starts) against the Braves, while Chacin and Nicaso have not faced them.
• Miscellaneous: Colorado has gone 8-17 in its past 25 road games, totaling just 71 runs despite 25 homers. They scored three runs or fewer in 18 of those 25…. Jimenez has a big disparity between home and road statistics, but not how you might expect. He has a .319 opponents' average and .909 opponents' OPS in nine home games, compared to .135/.447 in six road games. He has a 6.24 home ERA and 2.14 road ERA, and allowed two earned runs or fewer in seven or more innings in his past four road starts.
-- David O'Brien
