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Phillies-Braves Preview

Jul 4, 2015 - 4:00 AM The Atlanta Braves' starters haven't allowed an earned run in four of the last five games, and the man who began that run seems ready to get a streak of his own underway.

The competition should do little to deter Alex Wood on Saturday night as he takes the mound against the Philadelphia Phillies at Turner Field.

The Braves (39-41) opened the three-game series with Friday's 2-1 win, and Julio Teheran's unearned run in seven innings dropped the rotation's ERA to 1.19 through the full turn. The club has won four of those games, three straight overall and three in a row versus the Phillies (27-55).

At the plate, Juan Uribe has provided the staff with nearly all the support it's needed, going 8 for 22 with four home runs in six games.

Philadelphia has dropped eight of nine and five in a row after being swept in four at home against Milwaukee, and its winning percentage is under .333 this late in a season for the first time since being 36-74 entering play on Aug. 6, 1997. The Phillies last completed a season winning fewer than a third of their games in 1961 (.305).

Wood (5-5, 3.17 ERA) turned in his first scoreless start of at least six innings in Sunday's 2-1 win at Pittsburgh. The left-hander gave up five hits in 7 1-3 innings while matching a season high with eight strikeouts against no walks.

Unsurprisingly, he called it his best start of the year and compared it to how he felt at his best last season, and his catcher agreed.

"He was pretty much in control the whole game," A.J. Pierzynski told MLB's official website. "He had all three of his pitches working and he was moving his fastball around. He was ahead in the count. That's what he can do. When he's right, he can dominate lineups. Today you saw a glimpse of what he can do."

The next step might be duplicating it at home. Wood is 0-3 with a 5.00 ERA in five starts at Turner Field. The location hasn't much mattered against Philadelphia with a 2-2 record and 2.60 ERA in six career starts, though Wood did last just 4 1-3 innings while allowing three runs and nine hits in a 5-2 home loss May 4.

Carlos Ruiz (6 for 9), Freddy Galvis (4 for 7) and Ben Revere (6 for 12) have done the most damage against him.

Kevin Correia is seeking his first win in his fifth start since signing with the Phillies last month. The right-hander gave up three runs - one earned - and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings of Sunday's 3-2 home loss to Washington.

Correia (0-2, 3.60) hasn't been fooling many with a .329 opponent batting average, and the 34-year-old is yet to make it through six innings. That's probably because opponents are batting .412 with a 1.332 OPS on their third time through the lineup.

The Phillies made two errors against the Nationals and he walked three batters.

Correia said it's key to avoid reaching that third time through the order so early while an NL lineup is still entirely intact.

"I think it's more innings later where you're facing guys for the second, third time that you might not have been later in the game," Correia said. "It's huge for me, because they're going to see more of what you're featuring the third time around."

Any time through the order could be a struggle against Kelly Johnson, who's 10 for 30 with five home runs off Correia. Uribe (8 for 20 with a home run), Chris Johnson (4 for 10) and Nick Markakis (3 for 6) have also had success.