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The Braves will look to continue their winning ways against the San Diego Padres in a four-game series at Turner Field this week. Atlanta has won their last five series, keeping them right in the thick of the playoff hunt. The Padres, on the other hand, enter with a record of 51-65 and are 14.5 games back in the NL West.
Chase Headley is one of the more underrated stars in baseball, and he's the biggest threat on the club. He leads the team in batting average, runs scored, homers and runs batted in. Carlos Quentin is a force in the lineup whenever he's healthy, hitting to the tune of .261 this year with an OPS of .878. Rookie catcher Yasmani Grandal has come on very strong in his debut season and leads the club with a .947 OPS.
As a whole the Padres rank 27th in baseball in runs scored, although some of that can be attributed to the spacious Petco Park. While they can score a couple of runs, the Braves' pitching staff really shouldn't have too much trouble with their lineup.
Pitching Matchups & Start Times:
Monday, 7:10 p.m. - Mike Minor (6-8, 4.95 ERA) vs. Eric Stults (2-2, 2.79 ERA)
Tuesday, 7:10 p.m. - Tim Hudson (11-4, 3.77 ERA) vs. Clayton Richard (3.79 ERA)
Wednesday, 7:10 p.m. - Paul Maholm (1-1, 1.69 ERA) vs. Edinson Volquez (7-8, 4.03 ERA)
Thursday. 7:10 p.m. - Kris Medlen (3-1, 2.28 ERA) vs. Jason Marquis (6-6, 3.66 ERA)
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