The last road trip the Atlanta Braves went on was a pure disaster. The team lost eight games in a row while getting swept by the likes of the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners. They totaled 18 runs in that stretch. A return home got the team some needed success as they are coming off a sweep of the Oakland Athletics. However, the Braves hit the road again to face the Pittsburgh Pirates, competition for the National League wild card.
The Braves hit the road for 10 games starting with the Pittsburgh Pirates who are in a losing streak of their own. Atlanta has momentum. They put up a solid showing against the Athletics. The team is six games back from the Washington Nationals for the lead in the National League East. They are a game and a half out of the wild card spot, something the Pirates are battling for as well. Pittsburgh is at risk of losing six straight games, the worst losing streak in two years. They went on a winless five-game road trip where they totaled up 18 runs.
The Braves will put Ervin Santana on the mound who is 12-6 with a 3.66 ERA on the season. The right-hander put up a solid game against the Dodgers where he gave up just two runs while striking out nine in the Braves' only win against Los Angeles this season. He is hopeful of getting his fifth straight win as he has a 2.70 ERA in his last six starts.
The Pittsburgh Pirates will start Vance Worley who is on a hot streak, giving up just three earned runs of 28 innings in his last four starts. That was before Wednesday when he surrendered five runs, three earned, in five innings to the Detroit Tigers. He has not pitched well against the Braves, looking to avoid a three-game losing streak. In his last two starts, he gave up 12 runs and 16 hits to Atlanta, something the team hopes to repeat.
