Atlanta @ Cincinnati preview
Great American Ball Park
Last Meeting ( Jul 30, 2010 ) Atlanta 6, Cincinnati 4
With a major league-leading 17 wins in their last at-bat, the Atlanta Braves are no strangers to late-inning drama.
They've certainly dealt out plenty at the Cincinnati Reds' expense.
The Braves have defeated the Reds all three times this season in their last at-bat, including Friday's 6-4 win in 10 innings in the opener of a three-game series between National League contenders at Great American Ball Park.
Atlanta's dramatic victory in the opener might have come at a price, though, as All-Star second baseman Martin Prado jammed a finger on his right hand sliding head-first into home plate on rookie Jason Heyward's go-ahead double in the 10th inning.
X-rays on Prado's finger were inconclusive, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Prado is expected to see a doctor on Saturday. Prado leads the National League with 138 hits and ranks second with 75 runs scored.
Heyward, who had three doubles Friday, was also the hero in the teams' first meeting of the season, as the outfielder hit a game-ending RBI double in a 5-4 victory on May 19 in Atlanta. A day later, Brooks Conrad's pinch-hit grand slam capped a seven-run ninth and lifted Atlanta to a 10-9 win.
The win moved Atlanta 3 1/2 games ahead of Philadelphia in the NL East, as the Phillies dropped an 8-1 decision to Washington in Roy Oswalt's debut. They'll try to keep pace in the pennant race again on Saturday when the Braves send Jair Jurrjens to the mound.
Jurrjens (3-3, 4.37 ERA) was bothered by a hamstring injury early in the season, but he has come back strong. In five starts since coming off the disabled list on June 30, the 24-year-old right-hander is 3-0 with a 2.84 ERA.
He allowed four runs over seven innings for a no-decision in Sunday's 5-4 loss at the Florida Marlins, marking the first time since returning to the rotation he has allowed more than three runs.
The somewhat rocky start continued a trend of road woes for Jurrjens, who is 0-3 with a 7.88 ERA in five starts away from Turner Field. He has been beaten up in two career starts in Cincinnati, racking up a 9.95 ERA in 6 1/3 innings.
The Reds hope that trend continues so they can snap a streak of three consecutive home losses and keep pace with the St. Louis Cardinals in what is shaping up as a tight NL Central race.
Cincinnati fell a half-game behind the Cardinals on Friday when St. Louis posted a 1-0 triumph over the Pittsburgh Pirates in 10 innings.
The Reds haven't lost a series at home since June 15-17, when they dropped two of three to the Dodgers. They turn to Bronson Arroyo to try to keep that streak intact.
Arroyo (10-6, 4.21 ERA) has endured an up-and-down month. After winning three consecutive starts to begin July, the 33-year-old right-hander has lost his last two outings. He turned in a quality start at Milwaukee on Monday, allowing three runs on three hits over eight innings, but he wound up on the wrong end of a 3-2 loss.
In 12 career appearances against Atlanta, Arroyo is 5-3 with a 5.90 ERA. Third baseman Chipper Jones is 11-for-25 (.440) with three homers and 10 RBIs against him, and Eric Hinske is 11-for-26 (.423) with a homer at his expense.