Fri Jun 20 15:35:45 2008

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Road woes holding Braves back in division race

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(Sports Network) - Few teams enjoy heading down to Atlanta to battle the Braves. Welcoming the club to town for a quick series? Now that is something Atlanta's opponents can go for.

The Braves continue to play outstanding ball at Turner Field. Though they ended 3-4 on their more recent homestand (June 2-8), the Braves are still 25-11 as the hosting club in 2008, one of the top records in the majors.

However, after a recent four-city, 10-game road trip, Atlanta is just 11-27 as the visitor, the main reason the team is two games under .500 (36-38) for the season and six games back of first-place Philadelphia in the National League East heading into play on Friday.

Atlanta has had five road swings of at least six games this year, and have yet to finish at the even mark or above in any of them. Who would have thought that the Braves' 3-6 trip in early April would have been their best trek until going 4-6 on their recent trip from June 10-19.

The Braves are batting just .247 on the road this year, effectively wiping out their 3.98 earned run average as the visitors. Atlanta scored fewer than four runs in just three of the 10 games on the recent tour, and averaged 4.4 runs per game. The Braves also allowed just 4.3 runs per game, but still couldn't post a winning road trip.

"We've played excellent," manager Bobby Cox told Atlanta's official Web site. "We're just giving it up late or just not adding on the runs later."

One of the main culprits; Atlanta's inability to win close games. Four games on the Braves' road trip were decided by two runs or fewer. The club went 0-4 in those situations. On the season, the Braves are 3-19 in one-run decisions and according to the Elias Sports Bureau have lost 22 straight one-run games on the road.

Atlanta next begins a six-game homestand as it tries to get back to .500 on the season for the first time since it was 32-32 after a win on June 8. That was the team's last game before it began its 10-game road trip.

Offensively, Mark Teixeira and Jeff Francoeur continue to struggle the most away from Turner Field. Teixeira is hitting just .241 on the road this year with five homers, while Francoeur is hitting .250. Teixeira, meanwhile, is hitting .291 at home.

GONZALEZ RETURNS

The Braves have had moderate success this year despite a lack of stability at the closer spot. Seven different pitchers have posted a save this season, with Manny Acosta and Rafael Soriano leading the way with three each.

Acosta, though, has a 4.33 ERA on the season, while Soriano is sidelined with right elbow inflammation. It was thought that perhaps John Smoltz could take over the role for the rest of the season, but he is now lost for the rest of 2008 due to right shoulder surgery.

The latest Brave to post a save was Mike Gonzalez, who closed out Wednesday's win over Texas on the same day he was activated from the disabled list. The left-hander had been out since undergoing Tommy John surgery on May 31 of last year and could assume the role on the club that is wide open for the taking.

According to Elias, Gonzalez has now converted his last 31 save opportunities, as he has not blown a save since June 25, 2004. However, he has never really served as a full-time closer. In 2006, he filled that capacity while with Pittsburgh, notching 24 saves in as many opportunities while posting a 2.17 ERA in 54 innings.

After being acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh prior to the 2007 season, Gonzalez had a 2-0 record with two saves and a 1.59 ERA in 18 appearances.

The lefty spent the first six weeks of this season in extended spring training, then appeared in four games with Double-A Mississippi. He allowed one run in five innings over six games with Triple-A Richmond before rejoining the Braves.

It is worth noting that Smoltz went on to save 154 games over three years for the Braves after returning from Tommy John surgery, before he returned to the starting rotation.

CHIPPER FALLS BELOW .400

It's only been one game, but Chipper Jones has fallen below the .400 batting average mark for the first time since he was hitting .386 on April 12. The following game, Jones went 3-for-5 against Washington to get his average back up to .408.

Jones was hitting an even .400 heading into Thursday's finale with the Rangers, but went 0-for-4 with a strikeout to fall to .394. He might have a tough time getting back to the .400 mark, as he is hitless in six career at- bats against the Mariners, the club Atlanta hosts this weekend.

WHO IS HOT

Jair Jurrjens is unbeaten over his last six starts (3-0) and is 7-3 on the season with a 3.43 ERA.

Yunel Escobar hit .325 (13-for-40) on Atlanta's 10-game road trip with two RBI, three doubles, eight walks and five runs scored.

WHO IS COLD

Second baseman Kelly Johnson batted just .220 (9-for-41) with one homer, four RBI and five runs scored over Atlanta's 10-game road trip, while Teixeira hit .162 (6-for-37) on the trek with five RBI and zero homers.

Teixeira went just 1-for-8 against his former club, the Rangers, and hasn't homered since June 8.

ON DECK

Jorge Campillo (2-1, 2.17 ERA) will start Friday's opener against Seattle for the Braves against Erik Bedard (4-4, 4.14), while Jurrjens (7-3, 3.43) counters Jarrod Washburn (2-7, 5.83) on Saturday. Sunday's finale has Tim Hudson (7-5, 3.17) against Carlos Silva (3-8, 5.79).

After the Mariners, Milwaukee comes to town for three games. Jo-Jo Reyes (3-4, 4.05) and Charlie Morton (1-0, 4.91) will start the first two tests of that set for the Braves.