The Atlanta Braves have started to put together some momentum with hust about 40 games left to play in the season. The team has currently won four straight games, breaking a eight-game road game losing streak with a win against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday. The team is one game back in the NL wild card spot while remaining in a race with the Washington Nationals for the National League East title. Meanwhile the Pittsburgh Pirates are at risk of dripping seven straight, but a return of the MVP might help straighten things out.
Andrew McCutchen is expected to return Tuesday after suffering a rib injury on Aug. 3. He was batting .311 with 17 home runs and 67 RBIs prior to getting hurt. He was 6 for 13 in his last four games before the injury. Against the Braves, he is hitting .333 in his last four games. The Pirates are in desperate need of those numbers returning as they continue to drop out of playoff contention, risking the worst losing streak since 2012.
Pittsburgh will put Francisco Liriano on the mound. He is 2-2 with a 1.89 ERA in his last six starts while striking out 42 in 38 innings of play. Liriano is suffering from a lack of run support as the Pirates are scoring just two runs when he is on the mound. Getting McCutchen back should help with that effort, along with Travis Snider who is hitting .412 in his last nine games.
The Braves found their bats on Monday. They scored six runs in the first innings. Jason Heyward hit a home run, getting three hits on the night. Freddie Freeman is currently batting .442 in his last 12 games. The offense might be inconsistent, but when they are on they are really on.
Aaron Harang takes the mound, hoping his teammates can keep up the offense. The Braves have scored 10 runs with Harang on the mound in his last six games. Harang is 4-0 with a 2.55 ERA in his last nine starts, but is coming off a game where he gave up five runs in four innings to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
