Braves Slumping
After getting swept by the team with the best record in baseball, things don’t get much easier this weekend for the slumping Atlanta Braves.
They look to improve on the majors’ worst road record Friday when they open a three-game interleague series against the Los Angeles Angels, who have the best record in the American League.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made Los Angeles -131 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 9 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 72% of bets for this game have been placed on Los Angeles -131 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Atlanta (32-35) has lost six straight overall and six straight on the road. The Braves fell to 7-24 on the road this season after getting swept by the Chicago Cubs in a three-game series at Wrigley Field.
"It’s not easy to win on the road," said Chipper Jones after a 3-2 loss in 11 innings on Thursday. "You’re in a hostile environment and the whole world is against you. You have to bring it every day. I don’t know if some of us bring it every day."
The Braves look to snap their losing streak Friday when they visit the Angels (41-26). Los Angeles has won nine of 11 and 17 of 24, including taking two of three this week against Tampa Bay.
The Angels closed that series Wednesday with a 4-2 win. Vladimir Guerrero and Gary Matthews Jr. each homered and Maicer Izturis drove in two runs.
Izturis is hitting .266 this season, but is batting .438 (21-for-48) with 10 RBIs in the last 11 games.
"The hits are really falling in," he told the Angels’ official Web site. "I really felt throughout the whole year I’ve been hitting the ball well."
Los Angeles has won 18 of its last 23 interleague games, and is 12-2 in its last 14 home games against the NL. The Angels won two of three at home against the Dodgers in May.
Atlanta, meanwhile, is 2-1 against the AL this season after winning its home series against the Athletics last month.
The Angels won two of three against the Braves in Atlanta in 2005 in the only previous series between the teams.
First baseman Casey Kotchman told the Angels’ official Web site that the lack of head-to-head matchups between them doesn’t necessarily make preparing more difficult.
"You watch baseball on TV a lot, so that helps," Kotchman said. "It’s a little different playing them on the field, but at least you’ve seen them. The scouting reports are still the same."
The Braves suffered their 21st straight one-run loss on the road Thursday. Jeff Francoeur hit a two-run home run in the second inning but reliever Blaine Boyer allowed Jim Edmonds’ tying solo homer in the ninth, and Jeff Ridgway hit Reed Johnson with the bases loaded in the 11th to score the winning run.
The Braves will face Jon Garland (6-3, 3.87 ERA) for the first time on Friday.
Garland has won his last three decisions and the Angels have won the last four times he’s taken the mound. The right-hander pitched seven innings last Saturday against Oakland, allowing two runs and five hits in the 5-3 win.
This will be the first time Garland is facing Atlanta. He is 8-11 with a 4.49 ERA in 30 interleague games – 23 starts.
Jo-Jo Reyes (2-4, 4.80) counters for the Braves. Reyes, a native of nearby West Covina, Calif., has lost his last three decisions after he pitched 7 1-3 innings against Philadelphia last Saturday, allowing four runs and seven hits – including two home runs – in the 6-2 loss.
This is the left-hander’s first start against the Angels. In his only interleague appearance, he pitched five innings against the A’s on May 18, allowing two runs in the 5-2 win.
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