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Rangers take on Braves at Turner Field

Jun 17, 2011 - 3:15 PM (Sports Network) - Not much has gone right for the Texas Rangers during this current road trip. However, the defending American League champions may have caught a big break as they head to Turner Field tonight for the first of three interleague meetings with the Atlanta Braves.

The Braves were slated to send young ace Tommy Hanson to the mound for this evening's opener of this set, but the talented righty was scratched after experiencing tendinitis in his throwing shoulder after a recent bullpen session. In his place will be untested rookie Randall Delgado, who will be called up from the minors to make his major league debut.

Delgado is considered one of the top arms in the Atlanta farm system and is having a fine season for the team's Double-A affiliate in Mississippi, where the 21-year-old has amassed a 4-4 record and a 3.54 earned run average in 13 starts. The native Panamanian had a 2.76 ERA in 20 starts for Single-A Myrtle Beach last year, after which he was named the Braves' third-best prospect by Baseball America and also made that publication's top 100 overall prospect list.

Hanson ranks second in the National League with a 2.48 ERA and had struck out a career-best 14 batters in seven innings in his most recent start, a 4-1 win at Houston last Sunday that improved his season record to 8-4.

Delgado will be taking on a reeling Texas team that's just 1-6 so far on a tough 10-game trek and had its season-worst losing streak extended to five games with Thursday's extra-inning setback to the Yankees. New York came through with a hard-fought 3-2 decision when Brett Gardner singled home Curtis Granderson with the deciding run with one out in the bottom of the 12th inning.

Granderson led off the Yanks' half of the 12th with a single off Texas reliever Michael Kirkman and advanced to second when Robinson Cano was hit by a pitch. Gardner then dropped a base hit into right field to plate Granderson without a throw.

"The pitch wasn't where I wanted it, but it was still in a good location," Kirkman said. "It broke [Gardner's] bat and just scooted through the infield, a seeing-eye single."

The loss spoiled a strong outing from Texas starter C.J. Wilson, who fanned 10 Yankees over the first eight innings and yielded just two runs on seven hits.

The Rangers are now 2-8 in their last 10 overall contests and have seen their lead over second-place Seattle in the AL West shrink to only a half-game.

Atlanta has had a bit of a rough stretch of its own as of late, having dropped three in a row before rallying past the New York Mets in a wild 10-inning affair last night at Turner Field.

The Braves trailed by a 9-7 score entering the bottom of the ninth inning, but Brooks Conrad slugged a pinch-hit two-run homer off Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez to pull even. Atlanta then loaded the bases in its half of the 10th before New York's D.J. Carrasco was called for a balk to force home the winning run.

"It was huge," Conrad told MLB.com of his dramatic homer. "Tonight was huge. All the momentum was in the Mets' favor there, obviously pretty much this whole series. For us to at least scratch one out of this hard-fought series was huge for us."

Conrad may be rewarded for his efforts with a start tonight, as regular third baseman Chipper Jones was forced to leave Thursday's game in the eighth inning due to a groin strain. The veteran slugger is considered day-to-day and unlikely to be in the lineup for the opener.

Jones was having a terrific night prior to getting hurt, going 3-for-5 with a three-run homer and knocking in five runs total. Leadoff hitter Jordan Schafer also had a big game for Atlanta, collecting a career-high five hits in six at- bats and scoring three times.

Atlanta, winners of seven of its last 10 overall, will be taking its swings against the slumping Colby Lewis in tonight's matchup. The well-traveled right-hander has been hit hard in each of his last two starts, failing to make it out of the fourth inning on either occasion.

Lewis was battered for nine runs and 10 hits -- including four homers -- before being lifted after 3 1/3 innings of a loss to Detroit on June 6. He wasn't any better in his subsequent start, surrendering six runs and seven hits in only 1 1/3 innings of work in Saturday's 8-1 defeat at Minnesota.

The 31-year-old has served up an AL-high 17 homers this season, though he's generally been effective on the road. In seven away starts thus far in 2011, Lewis is 3-4 with a respectable 3.26 ERA.

This will be Lewis' first-ever appearance against the Braves.

Texas has won four of its last six interleague clashes with Atlanta, though each of those games has taken place in Arlington. The Rangers lost all three meetings to the Braves in their last visit to Turner Field, which occurred from June 3-5, 2003.