Atlanta @ Los Angeles preview
Dodger Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 9, 2009 ) Atlanta 8, LA Dodgers 2
The Los Angeles Dodgers posted three straight walk-off wins in their last series while the Atlanta Braves walked off with the NL East lead after their series.
Now the two hottest teams in the National League meet for a four-game series starting Thursday night at Chavez Ravine.
The Dodgers have won four straight games, including three consecutive walk-off wins over the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks.
A game behind the San Diego Padres in the NL West, Los Angeles beat Arizona on a walk-off balk, a home run in the 10th inning by Matt Kemp and an RBI single in the 14th inning by Garret Anderson. The Dodgers mustered only one run in each of their last two games, but benefited from outstanding pitching to emerge victorious.
The Braves are fresh off a sweep of the reeling Philadelphia Phillies and have rolled to eight straight wins. Atlanta now leads the NL East by 2 1/2 games over the two-time National League champion Phillies.
One of the surprises of the season thus far, the Braves start an 11-game road trip Thursday and play four in Arizona and finish the trip with three at the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins.
A trip like this will say plenty about Atlanta and if it is a legitimate contender for its first playoff berth since 2005.
The Braves have outscored their opponents, 51-21, during their recent winning streak and are going for their first nine-game run in 10 years.
While they haven't been scoring many runs of late, the Dodgers continue to keep winning home games. Among the National League leaders with a home mark of 18-8, Los Angeles will look to improve upon its 2-7 record against the NL East this season against Atlanta, which is 12-16 on the road.
The Los Angeles offense had been trying to get by without its most effective hitter, but now it is just waiting for Andre Ethier to heat back up. Ethier went 0-for-6 on Wednesday and is 1-for-14 in three games since his return from the disabled list after missing 15 games because of a broken right pinky finger.
Ethier was leading the majors hitting .392 with 38 RBIs when he went on the disabled list.
Hiroki Kuroda (5-3, 3.55 ERA) gets the start for Los Angeles and is trying to avoid his third straight loss. In two career starts against the Braves, Kuroda is 1-1 with a 1.20 ERA.
Kris Medlen (2-1, 2.85) will be making his fifth start of the season for Atlanta and his first career starts against Los Angeles. He has appeared in four career games against the Dodgers and has a record of 1-0 with an ERA of 2.35 in 7 2/3 innings.