Los Angeles @ Atlanta preview
Turner Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 14, 2010 ) LA Dodgers 2, Atlanta 1
In a series that has been dominated by pitching, the Atlanta Braves hope 24-year-old right-hander Jair Jurrjens will be the next starter to set the tone when he takes on Vicente Padilla and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third game of a four-game series today at Turner Field.
Atlanta's Tim Hudson edged Hiroki Kuroda in a pitchers' duel in Friday's series opener, and Dodgers left-hander Ted Lilly got the better of Derek Lowe in Los Angeles' 2-1 win Saturday.
The Braves need Jurrjens to turn in the next stellar start as they try to hold off the Philadelphia Phillies, who have scratched within two games of their National League East lead.
Jurrjens (4-4, 4.16 ERA) got off to a rough start while nursing a hamstring injury early in the season, but he is 4-1 with a 3.14 ERA in eight starts since coming off the disabled list June 30. He is 2-1 with a 4.03 ERA in four starts against the Dodgers.
Like the Braves, Jurrjens has enjoyed a significant home-field advantage at Turner Field, where he is 4-0 with a 1.91 ERA in six starts, contributing largely to Atlanta's 40-16 home record, the best in the majors.
That advantage will be magnified today by the fact Padilla (6-3, 3.32 ERA) has struggled on the road. The 32-year-old right-hander has a 5.14 ERA in eight road starts, compared to his 1.61 ERA in six starts at home.
Nonetheless, Padilla has won five of his last six decisions. He had a string of eight consecutive starts in which he allowed two runs or fewer before giving up four runs over five innings Tuesday at Philadelphia
Padilla is 6-8 with a 3.54 ERA in 18 appearances against Atlanta. He most recently faced the Braves in 2008 with Texas, holding them to two runs over six innings in a 7-5 victory. No player on Atlanta's roster with more than three at-bats against Padilla is hitting better than .300 against him.
After managing only four hits Saturday, the Braves are hitting .218 as a team in 13 games this month, their lowest monthly average of the season, yet their 17 home runs in August are the second-most in the National League. The Braves have scored one run in each of the first two games of the series.
The Dodgers' erratic offense has been just as paltry at times. Los Angeles has scored two runs or fewer in three of its last four games, but it put up nine runs in the other game during that span.
Scott Podsednik hasn't been part of the problem. The outfielder Los Angeles acquired from Kansas City on Aug. 9 has multiple hits in each of his past five games and is hitting .522 during that span.