Atlanta @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( May 7, 2010 ) Atlanta 0, Philadelphia 7
After being embarrassed by the oldest pitcher in the game, the Atlanta Braves are licking their wounds and trying to find their bats.
The Braves will be looking to put some runs together when they face the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.
Playing without star rookie Jason Heyward due to a groin strain, Atlanta managed just two hits while being shut out by 47-year-old Jamie Moyer in the series opener. Moyer did not top 83 miles per hour with his fastball and threw his normal assortment of changeups and fastball variations, but the inept Braves' offense had no clue against the left-hander.
The performance made Moyer the oldest pitcher in history to throw a shutout, besting knuckleballer Phil Niekro by over a year. Moyer now has three two-hit shutouts to his credit, with the first coming in 1986.
While it was a surprise that it came against Moyer, the Braves offense has been poised for a letdown of this size for quite some time.
Heyward, who paces the club with eight homers and 26 RBIs and ranks second with a .294 batting average, has been a bright spot. Atlanta is still waiting for the rest of its stars to get going.
Chipper Jones has only two homers and seven RBIs - and watched his average drop to .222 on Friday. Nate McLouth and Melky Cabrera are each hitting below .200 and Brian McCann took a second straight day off on Friday as he attempts to work his way out of a slump that has dropped his average to .243.
The Atlanta offense could be in for a treat on Saturday with Joe Blanton, however. The veteran Blanton began the season on the disabled list but was recalled on Monday only to yield four runs and 10 hits in 6 2/3 to absorb the loss.
He has never matched up well with the Braves, owning a 1-1 mark with a 5.45 ERA in six starts against the division rivals.
Blanton, however, will have a stout offense behind him. Jayson Werth hit a three-run homer on Friday and is on a tear lately, recording multiple hits in six of the last eight games with three homers and 10 RBIs.
Attempting to stop Werth will be youngster Kris Medlen, who is making his first start of the season. The 24-year-old right-hander has made 12 appearances out of the bullpen for the Braves this season, striking out 16 while walking only three in 17 2/3 innings.
That strikeout to walk ratio will be important for Medlen, who needs to keep runners off base because of a tendency to allow fly balls and home runs.
In seven games against the Phillies - all in relief - Medlen has allowed 10 hits and six runs in eight innings, including a home run to Ryan Howard.