Atlanta @ Cincinnati preview

Last Meeting ( May 6, 2013 ) Atlanta 7, Cincinnati 4

Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park possesses a well-earned reputation as a hitter’s paradise, but features two of the top pitching teams in baseball on Tuesday as the visiting Atlanta Braves face the Reds in the middle game of a three-game series. The Braves have compiled a 3.28 ERA through 31 games while Cincinnati is at 3.52 over 33 games. Tuesday’s starters hope to get a boost from their respective offenses. Atlanta’s Kris Medlen and Cincinnati’s Homer Bailey sport identical 3.38 ERAs, but have just one victory each.

One hitter the Braves hope will get going is center fielder B.J. Upton. Signed to a five-year deal in the offseason, Upton is hitting .148 and is mired in a 4-for-33 skid. Upton struck out four times in Atlanta’s 7-4 victory Monday. The Reds breathed a sigh of relief when second baseman Brandon Phillips and center fielder Shin-Soo Choo, who collided in Sunday’s game in Chicago, were able to play Monday. Phillips finished with two hits.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, SportSouth (Atlanta), Fox Sports Ohio (Cincinnati)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Kris Medlen (1-4, 3.38 ERA) vs. Reds RH Homer Bailey (1-3, 3.38).

Medlen allowed three runs on seven hits in seven innings Thursday, but did not get any offensive support in losing for the fourth time in six starts. After walking 23 hitters in 138 innings in 2012, Medlen already has issued 12 walks in 37 1/3 innings. Medlen has lost three starts in a row, posting a 5.40 ERA in those outings.

The Reds have scored two runs or less in four of Bailey’s six starts. He struggled in his last start Wednesday against St. Louis, surrendering four earned runs and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. Bailey is 0-3 with a 4.02 ERA since beating Washington in his first start of the season.

WALK-OFFS
1. Atlanta C Brian McCann made his season debut Monday following offseason shoulder surgery, going 0-for-4.

2. Cincinnati RHP Johnny Cueto, on the disabled list with a sore oblique, threw 25 pitches in the bullpen Monday. Cueto’s scheduled outing at Double-A Pensacola Friday was scratched the day before when team doctors ruled his oblique had not healed enough.

3. Atlanta closer Craig Kimbrel earned his 10th save Monday; his next save will be the 100th of his career.

PREDICTION: Braves 4, Reds 3