Series preview: Braves at Rockies
When (TV): 8:40 p.m. Monday-Wednesday (WPCH), 3:10 p.m. Thursday (SPSO)
Radio: 680, 93.7, 100.5
Probable starting pitchers:
Monday:Braves RH Derek Lowe (5-7, 4.30 ERA) vs. RH Jason Hammel (5-8, 4.23)
Tuesday: Braves RH Brandon Beachy (3-1, 3.21) vs. RH Ubaldo Jimenez (5-8, 4.08)
Wednesday:Braves RH Tim Hudson (9-6, 3.44) vs. RH Juan Nicasio (4-2, 4.24)
Thursday: Braves RH Tommy Hanson (10-5, 2.73) vs. RH Jhoulys Chacin (8-7, 3.37)
About the Braves:
• Batting: Dan Uggla is 11-for-32 (.344) with four doubles and three homers during a 10-game hitting streak… Brian McCann has hit .342 with seven home runs and 16 RBIs in his past 20 games. In 16 games at Coors Field, McCann is 23-for-59 (.390) with seven doubles, three homers and 14 RBIs.
• Pitching: Lowe is 2-4 with a 5.00 ERA in his past 12 starts, including 2-3 with a 5.67 ERA and .307 opponents' average in his past six. He's 10-8 with a 4.40 ERA in 21 starts vs. the Rockies, but only 3-5 with a 5.53 ERA in 10 starts at Coors. He's 5-2 with a 2.80 ERA in his past seven starts against the Rockies, including 1-1 in two quality starts at Coors…. Hudson is 0-2 with a 10.80 ERA in three starts at Coors; Hanson got no decision and allowed four runs in five innings of his only start at Coors.
• Miscellaneous: Lowe is 4-for-10 with three doubles and three RBIs in the past five games in which he's batted… The Braves swept a four-game series against Colorado July 4-7 in Atlanta, hitting eight homers and outscoring the Rockies 24-8. In their previous series against the Rockies, the Braves were swept in three games at Coors Aug. 23-25. The Braves split a series at Coors in '09, but last won a series there in '07.
About the Rockies:
• Batting: Todd Helton was 22-for-54 (.407) with 12 RBIs, 10 walks and a .492 OBP in his past 15 games before Sunday. He had 16 singles and one homer in that stretch…. Against Lowe, Jason Giambi is 9-for-32 with three homers, 10 walks and a .465 OBP, and Helton is 15-for-49 (.306) with two homers, nine walks and a .414 OBP. Ian Stewart is 1-for-15 against him.
• Pitching: Hammel is 2-4 with a 5.67 ERA in his past eight starts, and 3-6 with a 4.92 ERA and nine homers allowed in 10 home starts this season. Against the Braves, he's 0-2 with a 9.53 ERA in four career starts. Against Hammel, Jason Heyward is 5-for-5, Eric Hinske is 4-for-6, and Martin Prado is 4-for-6 with a homer.
• Miscellaneous: Of the Rockies' planned starters for the last three games of the series, Jimenez is 2-4 with a 3.95 ERA in seven starts against the Braves, while Nicasio and Chacin are a combined 0-2 with a 10.57 ERA in two starts against them. Nicasio was charged with five runs and seven hits in 2-1/3 innings of his only start against the Braves, and Chacin gave up four runs, four hits and six walks in five innings against them.
-- DAVID O’BRIEN
