The class of the National League will meet for the opener of a three-game set on Tuesday when the Atlanta Braves host the Chicago Cubs.
The two sides enter the series following distinctly different outcomes over the weekend.
Atlanta improved on its major league-leading record, taking two of three on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves return home for the first time since April 30 after they went 6-3 across a three-city road trip. Still having dropped just one series through a quarter of the season, manager Walt Weiss’ club is off to its best start since 2003 at 28-13.
“We’re playing well,” Weiss said. “The thing I like is, when we do have a tough one or a clunker, we seem to bounce back really well and play well right away. There haven’t been any prolonged stretches where we’re not playing good baseball. We turn it around quickly, and that’s a great sign.”
The Braves’ offense leads baseball in runs (228), batting average (.270) and OPS (.784), while the pitching staff is the tops in batting average against (.210) and is tied with the New York Yankees for the best ERA in the majors (3.14).
Right-hander Grant Holmes (2-1, 4.34 ERA) will make his eighth start of the season for Atlanta after seeing his start skipped the last time through the rotation. Holmes, 30, last pitched on May 1, allowing six runs (five earned) through five innings in a no-decision against the Colorado Rockies. The Braves won 8-6.
Ahead of his 56th career outing (36th start), Holmes will face the Cubs for the first time in his three years.
Chicago has pieced together a pair of 10-game winning streaks this season, but saw its latest hot stretch snapped with a pair of offensive flops. The Cubs dropped two of three on the road against the Texas Rangers over the weekend, failing to score in each of the two losses.
Preparing for their second of three straight road series, manager Craig Counsell and company hope to use just the club’s second off day since April 16 as a reset.
“This is how our schedule works. Through the month of June, we have not that many days off,” Counsell said. “I think it’s a needed day off for everybody. We’ll take advantage of it and then go get ready to play in Atlanta.”
Left fielder Ian Happ, who saw his career-best 30-game on-base streak snapped Sunday, has one hit in his last 15 at-bats. He is among the Cubs ready to regroup ahead of the important NL meeting with the Braves.
“That was 23 games in 24 days, and to play as well as we did in that stretch against some good teams is really impressive and kind of a testament to the depth of the group,” Happ said. “… We didn’t have the best offensive games the last two games, but that just means it’s coming. This group is too good to have two straight shutouts and not put up some big numbers moving forward.”
Looking to slow down the Braves, right-hander Colin Rea (4-1, 4.03) will start the opener for Chicago. Rea is 1-0 with a 2.53 ERA in a pair of May starts. He yielded just two runs (one earned) in 5 1/3 innings on Wednesday in a no-decision against the Cincinnati Reds. The Cubs won 7-6 in 10 innings.
In six career starts against the Braves, the 35-year-old right-hander is 2-0 with a 3.97 ERA.
–Field Level Media
