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With
John Smoltz
out for the season,
Tim Hudson
is supposed to be the ace of Atlanta's rotation. The Braves could certainly use a dominant start from him now.
The Braves will try to avoid matching their longest losing streak of the season Friday night when they open a three-game series
with the
Houston Astros
at Turner Field.
Atlanta (40-46) was swept in three games against Philadelphia, capped by Thursday's 4-1 loss. With their fifth straight defeat,
the Braves dropped a season-worst six games under .500 and seven games behind the NL East-leading Phillies.
The Braves lost six in a row June 6-12, a skid that started with a three-game home sweep at the hands of Philadelphia.
Atlanta was outscored 19-7 in this week's series and went only 3-for-34 with runners in scoring position despite the return
of third baseman
Chipper Jones
, shortstop
Yunel Escobar
, center fielder
Mark Kotsay
and infielder
Martin Prado
from injuries. Jones, who leads the majors with a .389 batting average, went 3-for-11 with two doubles and a homer after missing
eight straight starts with a strained right quadriceps.
"We had (34) chances and three isn't enough," said catcher
Brian McCann
, who was 3-for-10 with two doubles against the Phillies.
Now, the Braves are hoping to get a boost from Hudson (8-6, 3.31 ERA), who is 6-1 with a 2.24 ERA in eight home starts this
season. The right-hander is 1-3 over his last seven starts overall despite a 3.83 ERA. He gave up six runs for the second
time in three starts on Saturday, going five innings in a 9-5 loss in Toronto.
Hudson gave up homers to
Vernon Wells
and
Rod Barajas
- the first right-handers to connect against him this season - and fell to 1-5 when allowing a home run.
"It's kind of weird," he said. "That's a game where I felt pretty good, I felt in control. I just ran into some trouble in
that sixth inning."
Hudson is 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA in three career starts against the Astros (40-46), who have dropped eight of their last 10 games
in Atlanta dating to the start of the 2005 season.
Houston lost the last three games of its four-game home set with the
Los Angeles Dodgers
, including Thursday's 5-2 defeat. J.R. Towles drove in both runs for the Astros, who had won six of eight before the three-game
slide.
"We didn't do a whole lot offensively. It seems like whenever we put together a good streak, we're swinging the bats well,
and we didn't do that in the last part of the series,"
Lance Berkman
, who went 0-for-10 in the last three games, told the Astros' official team Web site.
Carlos Lee
was an exception, going 8-for-13 with a homer over the last three games. He is 10-for-25 (.400) with a homer and 10 RBIs all-time
against Hudson.
Now, the Astros will hand the ball to
Brian Moehler
(4-3, 3.82), who has allowed one run in each of his last three starts. The right-hander went 5 2-3 innings and threw 111 pitches
- the first time this season he has topped 100 - without getting a decision in the Astros' 3-2 win over Boston on Sunday.
"I felt good, I felt strong," he said. "I don't know how I'll feel tomorrow. I felt alright today."
Moehler has struggled against the Braves, going 1-4 with a 5.12 ERA in 12 career appearances, including five starts. The win
came in his first outing against them in 1997 while with Detroit.
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