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Pirates-Braves Preview

May 29, 2010 - 5:37 AM By BRETT HUSTON STATS Writer

Pittsburgh (20-28) at Atlanta (25-22), 7:10 p.m. EDT

It's looking like every win could be critical in the NL East, which through two months is baseball's most competitive division.

To give themselves a better chance in that race, the Atlanta Braves would love to play a few more games against the NL Central.

The Braves seek their 12th win in 13 tries against Central opponents Saturday night as they continue their home series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Atlanta (26-22) was 2-5 against the Central after suffering a four-game sweep in St. Louis in late April, but those struggles now seem long ago.

The Braves are 17-8 in May - 10-1 versus the Central and 7-7 against teams from other divisions. They'd won all nine meetings with Central opponents this month before Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit's walk-off homer snapped that streak on Sunday. After winning two of three in Florida, they went back to work Friday against Pittsburgh (20-29).

David Ross, filling in at catcher for an injured Brian McCann, hit a two-run double to highlight a four-run first inning before Atlanta had to sit through two rain delays to earn a 7-3 win.

The Braves remained 1 1/2 games behind first-place Philadelphia in a division where all five teams are within four games of the top.

"We're starting to play like we feel we should have all year," starter Derek Lowe said after improving to 9-0 in nine career starts against the Pirates.

Perhaps the Braves player who has enjoyed facing the Central the most is Jason Heyward. The star rookie is hitting .367 (22 for 60) with five homers and 19 RBIs in 17 games against the Central, and has six hits and four walks in 15 plate appearances versus Pittsburgh.

Heyward hasn't yet gotten a chance to face Brian Burres (2-2, 5.40 ERA), who gets the ball for the Pirates looking to put three rocky starts behind him.

Burres, who has been shuffling between the bullpen and the rotation, may find himself back in a long-relief role if he doesn't improve Saturday. He has a 7.90 ERA in his last three outings after walking four and allowing five runs over 3 2-3 innings of a 7-5 loss at Cincinnati on Monday.

"He couldn't get ahead," manager John Russell told the Pirates' official website. "Too many walks. ... Nothing was really working for him. He just couldn't get the ball where he wanted it."

Burres has never faced the Braves, who until pounding out 12 hits off Zach Duke on Friday were hitting .219 against left-handers.

Atlanta right-hander Kris Medlen (1-1, 2.57) will oppose Pittsburgh for the second straight start. He gave up two runs and seven hits over 5 2-3 innings Sunday.

"I just missed location a couple of times and left the ball over the plate," Medlen told the Braves' official website.

The Pirates have totaled 20 runs while losing seven of their last nine games. They're 6-26 when they score three runs or fewer.

Following Sunday's series finale, Atlanta won't face another NL Central opponent until after the All-Star break.