Series preview: Braves vs. Padres
When (TV): 7:35 p.m. Friday, 7:10 p.m. Saturday, 1:35 p.m. Sunday (FSSO)
Radio: 680, 93.7, 100.5
Probable starting pitchers:
Friday: Braves RH David Hale (major league debut) vs. RH Ian Kennedy (6-9, 4.86)
Saturday: Braves RH Kris Medlen (13-12, 3.46) vs. LH Robbie Erlin (2-2, 5.56)
Sunday: Braves RH Julio Teheran (12-7, 3.05) vs. RH Burch Smith (0-1, 9.17)
About the Braves:
Batting: Evan Gattis is 11-for-35 (.314) with four doubles, four homers and 10 RBIs in nine September games, including nine RBIs in his past five games. Freddie Freeman is 16-for-50 (.320) with four homers and 13 RBIs in his past 13 games. Dan Uggla is 6-for-76 (.079) with no extra-base hits, two RBIs, 17 walks and 29 strikeouts in his past 27 games, including 4-for-35 with no RBIs, nine walks and 12 strikeouts in 15 games since having laser eye surgery.
Pitching: Hale makes his major league debut with a spot start in place of Paul Maholm, who has a sore elbow. Hale was called up Sept. 5 after going 6-9 with a 3.22 ERA in 22 games (20 starts) for Triple-A Gwinnett. Seven of the Marietta native's last eight games at Gwinnett were quality starts (six innings or more, three earned runs or fewer). Against the Padres, Medlen is 2-2 with a 1.33 ERA in six games (two starts), and Teheran is 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA in one start.
Miscellaneous: The Braves have lost 10 of their past 16 against the Padres, including three in a June 10-12 series at San Diego. Against Kennedy, Freeman is 3-for-5 with a homer, Brian McCann is 4-for-13 with a homer, and B.J. Upton is 3-for-14 with a homer. It's not a bad matchup for Maholm to miss, as he's 1-6 with a 4.27 ERA in eight starts vs. the Padres. Justin Upton has a .326 average and 17 homers in 83 games (310 at-bats) vs. the Padres, with a .385 OBP and .568 slugging percentage.
About the Padres:
Batting: Ronny Cedeno was 17-for-44 (.386) with two doubles, two homers and eight RBIs in his past 13 games before Thursday night's series finale at Philadelphia. Chase Headley was 31-for-121 (.256) with only two homers, seven RBIs, nine walks and 42 strikeouts in his past 32 games.
Pitching: Kennedy is 3-3 with a 3.81 ERA in his past 10 starts, with 58 strikeouts and 30 walks in 56 2/3 innings. The Padres scored two or fewer runs while he was in seven of those games, including one or no runs in four. Kennedy is 1-5 with a 5.34 ERA in 15 road starts. He's 2-0 with a 3.54 ERA in five starts against the Braves, including no decisions and a 5.91 ERA in two at Turner Field. Neither of the other Padres starters in the series has faced the Braves.
Miscellaneous: The Padres were 6-2 with a 3.30 ERA in their past eight games before Thursday's series finale at Philadelphia, but 3-9 with a 5.14 ERA in their past 12 road games. San Diego is 13-12 against the Braves since the beginning of 2010. Rookie Jedd Gyorko, after hitting .261 with 16 homers and a .502 slugging percentage in 67 games during a four-month stretch through Aug. 23, was 14-for-67 (.209) with two homers, 20 strikeouts and a .358 slugging percentage in his past 16 games before Thursday.
