The slumping Atlanta Braves will get catcher Drake Baldwin back from the injured list Tuesday when they return home to begin a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants.
Baldwin, who was reinstated from the IL on Monday, has been sidelined since straining his right oblique May 18. He was batting .303 with 13 homers and 38 RBIs in 48 games at the time of his injury. He homered in his first rehab game with Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday in Jacksonville, but Sunday’s game was rained out.
The Braves could use his bat. They went 1-4 on their two-city road trip after losing to the New York Mets on Sunday. It is the worst stretch of the season for the team that has the best record in the majors, dropping consecutive series after losing just two of their first 21 series.
The Giants beat the Chicago Cubs 5-1 on Sunday to salvage a game from their three-game series. San Francisco went 2-4 on the homestand and has lost five of its last eight. The Giants have the second-worst record in the National League.
“It was good to get (the win),” winning pitcher Logan Webb said afterwards. “It’s been not such a great homestand for us as a team. … There’s a lot of baseball to be played. Hopefully we find a way to string some wins together.”
The brief road trip was costly for the Braves, as three key players ended up on the IL. Right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. strained his right hamstring, while reliever and starter Spencer Strider went down with right elbow inflammation.
Strider has no ligament damage but will be shut down from throwing for four weeks, the team announced Monday.
“They’ll be fine,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “I felt like, and looked like, maybe Thursday night (when they were unable to fly out of Chicago because of storms) caught up to us. But no excuse there, it’s just what it felt like. Off day (Monday), we’ll get a nice little reboot and we know we’ll be ready to play on Tuesday.”
The pitching matchup for the series opener features Atlanta’s Grant Holmes (4-2, 4.05 ERA) against San Francisco’s Adrian Houser (2-6, 5.54)
Holmes was lifted after only 3 2/3 innings in his last start on Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox. He allowed three runs on four hits and two walks, striking out two in his shortest start of the season.
Holmes has made two career appearances (one start) against the Giants, going 1-0 with a 1.86 ERA. He did not face the Giants last year.
Houser took the loss in his last start on Tuesday against Washington. He pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing three runs and four hits with six strikeouts. It marked the fourth consecutive start in which Houser hasn’t pitched past the fifth inning.
Houser will be making his ninth appearance (seventh start) against the Braves. He is 0-5 with a 5.19 ERA against Atlanta. He has an 8.49 ERA over his last three appearances in Atlanta.
San Francisco second baseman Luis Arraez went hitless on Sunday to end his 13-game hitting streak. Arraez has always been a tough out for Atlanta, batting .302 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 32 career games against the Braves.
This is the first meeting between the teams this season. San Francisco won five of the six games between the teams last year.
–Field Level Media
