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Jun 15, 2009 - 6:46 PM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Atlanta (30-32) at Cincinnati (31-31), 7:10 p.m. EDT

Yunel Escobar's defensive lapses in the last week have drawn the ire of Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox. Jair Jurrjens certainly has good reason to be frustrated with the shortstop too.

The Braves try to avoid their fifth loss in six games when they open a three-game series against the slumping Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night.

Atlanta (30-32) dropped two of three at Baltimore over the weekend, losing 11-2 on Sunday. As bad as the game was for the Braves, it was worse for Escobar, who was pulled by Cox after two innings following his second mental error of the day.

The shortstop failed to turn a double play in the first inning, and his inattentiveness in the second led to Baltimore's Robert Andino dashing home from third base while Escobar was focused on a rundown at second.

"We pride ourselves on doing things right, being in the game and (we) don't do things lackadaisically," said Cox, who added that he's talked to Escobar plenty about his attention issues.

Escobar is hitting .333 (11 for 33) in his last eight games, but Sunday was the second time in a week his focus came into question. On Wednesday, he failed to notice Pittsburgh's Craig Monroe heading home as he took the throw on an attempted force play at second base. Monroe scored the go-ahead run and the Pirates won 3-2.

Jurrjens (5-4, 2.85 ERA), who gave up two runs and struck out seven in six innings of that loss, declined to comment on Escobar's latest error. The shortstop also committed a throwing error in the right-hander's previous start June 5 that helped Milwaukee score two runs in a 4-0 Brewers win.

Jurrjens has also been hurt by his team scoring two runs or fewer while he's been on the mound in seven of 13 starts.

He'll be making his second career start against the Reds, who roughed him up for six runs in 4 1-3 innings of an 8-7, 10-inning Cincinnati win May 31, 2008.

Escobar and Jurrjens aren't the only Braves hoping for a better week. Chipper Jones is 0 for 21 in his last six games, just shy of his career-worst 0-for-23 drought from Aug. 3-9, 2000.

Cincinnati (31-31) has lost four straight, suffering a three-game sweep by Kansas City over the weekend. The Reds fell 7-1 on Sunday after Jerry Hairston Jr. made a pair of errors, allowing Kansas City to score five unearned runs.

"I don't know if I could have a worser day," Hairston said. "Even A-Rod goes through a bad stretch. You know it's just the nature of the game and it's unfortunate, especially when we've lost four in a row."

Bad defense hasn't been the only problem. The Reds have scored eight runs and are hitting .156 during the losing streak.

Willy Taveras, in a career-worst 0-for-32 slump over his last eight games, sat out Sunday after being moved from leadoff to the second spot in the lineup the day before. Manager Dusty Baker told the Reds' official Web site that he would personally work with the center fielder.

Taveras is a .289 hitter against the Braves. He went 2 for 9 in two games as the Braves took two of three from the Reds from April 24-26, the teams' first meeting of 2009.

Cincinnati will hand the ball Tuesday to Aaron Harang (5-6, 3.74), who's winless in his last three starts but has pitched well of late. Other than a rough outing May 30, when he allowed eight runs and 12 hits in 4 1-3 innings of a 9-5 loss to Milwaukee, Harang has posted a 2.28 ERA in his four other most recent starts.

He's coming off an excellent performance, throwing 7 2-3 scoreless innings in a 4-2, 12-inning victory over Washington on Wednesday.

The right-hander is 1-2 with a 3.48 ERA in five starts against the Braves. This is his first time facing them since 2007.