One of the worst things that could have happened to the Atlanta Braves during their three game series with the Milwaukee Brewers was drop the first two games of their series. With a crucial three game series set to begin with the National League East leading Washington Nationals later this week, the Braves face a difficult task in playing catch up. With one game left in the series for the Braves to salvage, who has the edge?
The Braves will send their trade deadline acquisition, Paul Maholm to the hill to face the Milwaukee ace, Yovani Gallardo. Maholm is 12-9 overall this season with a 3.67 ERA, including 3-3 with a 3.48 ERA as a Brave. He had a terrible performance on Sept. 2, but has pitched well in his other six Atlanta starts, including 5 1/3 shutout innings against the New York Mets in his last start.
Gallardo has been great again this season, going 14-8 with a 3.76 ERA. He has recorded 182 strikeouts in 179 1/3 innings and has limited the opposition to a .245 BAA. He has won six straight decisions and has recorded six or more strikeouts in six of his past 10 starts.
Things don't look good for the Braves in this finale. Maholm used to pitch in the National League Central with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs, and because of that, he has had his fair share of action against the Brewers. For the most part, things haven't gone well for the lefty. He is 3-10 lifetime against the Brewers with a 4.87 ERA, while Gallardo is 3-1 with a 1.91 ERA against the Braves.
If the Braves are to stay within 7.5 games of the Nationals in the division, they need to change their luck against Gallardo and hope Maholm can figure out how to stop the Brewers. If not, the Braves will be stuck in the first wild card position.
Source:
Yahoo! Sports
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Hobson Lopes has been a life-long Atlanta Braves fan, thanks to TBS, and can be followed on Twitter @HobsonLopes.
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