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Cardinals-Braves Preview

Sep 11, 2010 - 4:18 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

St. Louis (73-65) at Atlanta (80-61), 4:10 p.m. EDT

Rallying to beat one of the best pitchers in baseball has the Atlanta Braves feeling confident. Winning consecutive games for the first time in September could give them a share of the NL East lead.

The Braves will try to build some momentum from just their fourth win this month when they face the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.

Atlanta (81-61) erased a two-run deficit by scoring six times off Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter in the sixth inning in an 8-6 win Friday. The victory came after the Braves fell 11-4 Thursday in the opener of this four-game set.

"That was huge," said third baseman Brooks Conrad, who started Friday's big inning with a pinch single. "Every one from here on out is huge. Now we're looking to string a few together."

The Braves haven't won consecutive games since a five-game run from Aug. 28-Sept. 1. They're 3-6 since and relinquished the division lead to Philadelphia.

Atlanta is one game behind the Phillies, who face New York.

The Braves, who lead the NL wild-card race, will turn to Tommy Hanson (9-11, 3.58 ERA) as he faces St. Louis for the first time while attempting to rebound from a third loss in four starts.

The right-hander was cruising through his most recent outing Monday, but was charged with a 3-1 loss at Pittsburgh. He allowed an unearned run and two hits through five innings before serving up a two-run homer to Neil Walker in the sixth and getting lifted after the inning.

Five days earlier, Hanson allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings of a 4-1 win over New York.

"For the most part I felt good with all my pitches and felt like I was throwing all my pitches to both sides of the plate," Hanson told the team's official website Monday. "I feel like it was just that one big pitch that hurt me."

Losing 12 of 17 has dropped the Cardinals (73-66) six games behind Cincinnati in the Central race, and 6 1/2 in back of Atlanta for the wild card.

Jake Westbrook (1-3, 3.89) will take the mound two days after witnessing the birth of his third child. The family resides outside Atlanta, so the Cardinals' visit to Turner Field made it convenient for him to attend without missing a start.

"He came in and did his work, and he's already gone back," manager Tony La Russa told the team's official website.

Westbrook will now try to win for the first time since Aug. 13. The right-hander is 0-3 with a 4.32 ERA over his last four starts and has received only four total runs of support.

Westbrook was backed by two runs Monday, and didn't get a decision in an 8-6 win at Milwaukee. He yielded two runs and five hits in six innings for his sixth quality start in seven games since St. Louis acquired him in a three-team deal from Cleveland on July 31.

Due to spending nine-plus seasons in the AL, Westbrook has only faced the Braves once, getting charged with a 4-0 defeat while with the Indians on June 19, 2004.