Atlanta @ Florida preview
Sun Life Stadium
Last Meeting ( May 26, 2010 ) Atlanta 7, Florida 3
The strikeouts have been down for both Tim Hudson and Ricky Nolasco so far this season, but the downward trend has had vastly different effects on the rest of their numbers.
Hudson hopes to continue his resurgence after missing more than a year for Tommy John surgery when he takes the mound tonight and tries to help his Atlanta Braves to a series victory against Nolasco and the Florida Marlins.
Hudson (5-1, 2.09 ERA) is looking to start 6-1 for the first time since his rookie season of 1999, when he won 10 of his first 11 decisions and finished with an 11-2 record.
And the 34-year-old right-hander has found success while changing his approach on the mound. Once a power pitcher who piled up the strikeouts, Hudson is pitching to contact and trying to induce more ground balls, and the new strategy has led him to be more efficient and as effective as ever.
Hudson has averaged 3.9 strikeouts per nine innings this year, down dramatically from his 6.1 average in 12 major league seasons, but with the wins piling up and his ERA down to 2.09, the Braves aren't complaining.
In five starts this month, Hudson is 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA, and he has allowed only two earned runs in 22 innings while winning his last three starts.
Hudson has fared well against the Marlins over the years, compiling an 8-2 record and a 2.92 ERA in 15 starts against them.
Nolasco's strikeouts also have dropped dramatically - from 9.5 per nine innings last year to 6.4 this year - but the similarities between his 2010 season and Hudson's end there.
The 27-year-old right-hander has been inconsistent, putting together a handful of dominant performances mixed in with several pedestrian ones. He has tallied only three strikeouts in each of his last four starts and he has yet to hit double digits in strikeouts this season after doing so 10 times in 2008 and 2009 combined.
In his last start, Nolasco (4-3, 4.50 ERA) allowed a season-high eight runs on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings Friday against the White Sox.
Nolasco is 3-4 with a 4.43 ERA in 11 starts and one relief appearance against the Braves. Brian McCann and Chipper Jones have inflicted plenty of damage against him - McCann is 10-for-31 with four homers and 11 RBIs against Nolasco, and Jones is 11-for-26 with four homers and eight RBIs against him.
After a five-game winning streak, the Braves had found their way into a brief offensive funk before they broke out with a six-run seventh inning in Wednesday's 7-3 victory.
Slumping shortstop Yunel Escobar had two hits in the inning, and the Braves would like to see him turn things around - he is hitting .188 and had been 3-for-35 since coming off the disabled list May 15. Escobar has had good luck against Nolasco, going 9-for-22 with a homer and three RBIs against him.
Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez hit his eighth home run of the season Wednesday. Ramirez is 10-for-27 (.370) with a homer and five RBIs in seven games since he was benched for his lack of hustle in a loss to Arizona on May 17.