The Atlanta Braves are looking for a little revenge. The team has not seen the Los Angeles Dodgers since the National League West contenders eliminated them in the division series last year in the playoffs. The Dodgers and Braves are once again in contention to be in the postseason mix and face off as both have momentum working in their favor.
The Dodgers continue to prove that they are planning on being a force to reckon with come September and October. They are coming off a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants where Hanley Ramirez went 6 for 13, Adrian Gonzalez went 5 for 13 and Yasiel Puig went 5 for 14. Their offense appears to be operating on all cylinders as they sit in first place in the standings. All of those hitters were headaches for the Braves during the postseason and could return in similar fashion during this series.
Josh Beckett will get the start for the first game. He is 6-5 with a 2.52 ERA on the season. The Braves batters, especially the Upton brothers, have failed against Beckett. BJ Upton has one hit in 17 at-bats against Beckett, while Justin Upton and Jason Heyward have combined to go 5 for 32 with 11 strikeouts. Beckett is coming off a sluggish start where he gave up four runs and three home runs to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Braves will counter with Aaron Harang who is excelling recently. The pitcher is 4-0 with a 2.20 ERA in his last six starts. The top Dodgers hitters have done well against Harang. Ramirez is 10 for 26 with five home runs while Gonzalez is 7 for 17 with three home runs. That does not speak well for the Braves in this series who need some wins in order to move past the Washington Nationals in the National League East race.
