The San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves are meeting in Atlanta Monday night for the first time since the Giants won their 2010 National League Division Series there.
Giants Vs. Braves Series Preview: Looking To October
The defending World Champion Giants likely did not expect that they'd be meeting their 2010 playoff foes not only looking up at them in a playoff race, for the NL Wild Card, but also trailing in their own division to the surprising Arizona Diamondbacks. San Francisco had been in first place since early June before Arizona knocked them off the top perch last Tuesday; they trail by two games, and are the current runner-up in the Wild Card standings, four games behind the Braves.
That gives this four-game set quite a bit of urgency for the Giants, who got swept by the Braves in a series in San Francisco in April, when the Giants were struggling. In the interim, the Giants suffered the loss of catcher Buster Posey for the season and the Braves had to play without their own backstop, Brian McCann, for several weeks until he returned on Sunday.
For the Braves, second baseman Dan Uggla, who was off to a horrific start that had him hitting .173 on July 4, had a 33-game hitting streak that just ended in Sunday's loss to the Cubs. The Giants attempted to boost their offense, last in the NL in runs, by trading for Carlos Beltran. But Beltran hurt his hand not long after the deal, hasn't played in a week, and may be placed on the disabled list, although the Giants are trying to delay that decision.
Meanwhile, both teams have been winning with pitching; Atlanta's bullpen has three pitchers with outstanding numbers: closer Craig Kimbrel (1.84 ERA, 0.989 WHIP, a MLB-leading 36 saves), and setup men Jonny Venters (1.18 ERA, 0.947 WHIP) and Eric O'Flaherty (1.33 ERA, 1.185 WHIP). The Giants' rotation, led by Tim Lincecum (2.58 ERA, 1.152 WHIP) and the remarkable comeback story of Ryan Vogelsong (2.47 ERA, 1.253 WHIP), anchors a staff that has allowed the second-fewest runs in the majors.
Of course, you’ll want to know about the pitching matchups:
Monday: Madison Bumgarner vs. Tim Hudson
Tuesday: Jonathan Sanchez vs. Randall Delgado
Wednesday: Matt Cain vs. Jair Jurrjens
Thursday: Tim Lincecum vs. Mike Minor
Both teams should know a lot more about their respective postseason possibilities by the time Thursday’s game ends. This series will also be getting a lot of national TV love; Monday night’s game is on ESPN2, and Tuesday’s and Thursday’s matchups will be on MLB Network.
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