San Francisco @ Atlanta preview

Turner Field

Last Meeting ( Oct 8, 2010 ) Atlanta 5, San Francisco 4

The Atlanta Braves were already without future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones and All-Star infielder Martin Prado. Now they will be without standout closer Billy Wagner for the remainder of the National League Division Series with the San Francisco Giants.

Wagner suffered a left oblique injury during Atlanta’s comeback victory in Friday’s Game 2 and is expected to be replaced on the Braves’ roster sometime prior to the start of Sunday’s Game 3.

The best-of-5 series is tied at 1-1 entering Sunday’s pivotal game at Turner Field in Atlanta. Tim Hudson starts for the Braves against Jonathan Sanchez of the Giants.

The loss of Wagner leaves Atlanta in a patchwork situation with its bullpen. Wagner had a sensational regular season with 37 saves and a 1.43 earned-run average while limiting opposing hitters to a .159 average.

The 39-year-old Wagner strained his oblique while attempting to field Edgar Renteria’s bunt in the 10th inning. He bent to the ground a few minutes later after fielding Andres Torres’ sacrifice bunt and left the game.

Wagner has announced he is retiring after the season so it’s possible Friday’s appearance was the final one of his career. If the Braves remove Wagner from the NLDS, he would be ineligible to participate in the NL Championship Series should the Braves prevail over the Giants.

Braves manager Bobby Cox indicated during Saturday’s off-day press conference that he will go with a closer-by-committee approach for the remainder of the series. That means rookies Jonny Venters and Craig Kimbrel and veterans Peter Moylan and Kyle Farnsworth as possible ninth-inning options.

Atlanta’s bullpen was terrific in Friday’s game, a contest in which the Braves rallied from four runs down for a 5-4 victory on Rick Ankiel’s colossal 11th-inning home run deep into McCovey Cove.

Six Braves relievers blanked the Giants over the final seven innings. Farnsworth made the biggest pitch by inducing Buster Posey to bounce into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the 10th.

San Francisco’s bullpen had a rare implosion by allowing Atlanta to score three runs in the eighth, with Alex Gonzalez’s two-run double off Giants closer Brian Wilson tying the score.

The Giants won Thursday’s opener 1-0 behind Tim Lincecum’s pitching. Lincecum struck out 14 while pitching a complete-game two-hitter.

The Giants send the hot-pitching Sanchez to the mound today. Sanchez (13-9, 3.07) finished the season with a flourish, going 4-1 with a 1.01 ERA over his last six starts.

He started twice against the Braves during the regular season and went 0-1 with a 7.56 ERA.

Hudson (17-9, 2.83 ERA) struggled down the stretch with a 5.32 ERA over his final seven starts. He went 1-4 in September before winning the playoff-clinching start against the Philadelphia Phillies on Oct. 3.

Hudson was 1-0 with a 1.20 ERA in two starts against San Francisco this season.

San Francisco second baseman Freddy Sanchez is expected to play despite getting hit on his right middle finger by a pitch during Game 2. X-rays on the finger were negative.

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