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Braves, Marlins look to gain ground in NL East

Jul 22, 2008 - 10:08 AM Atlanta (47-52) at Florida (52-47) 7:10 p.m. EDT

MIAMI (Ticker) -- A pair of NL East contenders will look to gain ground on the division leaders when the Florida Marlins host the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday.

The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, who begin a three-game set Tuesday, sit atop the NL East with identical 53-46 records.

Florida enters Tuesday a game back. Atlanta is struggling at five games under .500, losers of 11 of 18, six games off the pace.

The Braves took game one of the series, 4-0, behind seven innnings of two-hit pitching by rookie Jorge Campillo.

Fellow rookie Charlie Morton (2-2, 5.93) will be making his seventh start for the Braves. The 24-year-old righthander is coming off the best start of his career. He allowed a run on four hits and three walks over 5 1/3 innings, earning the decision in a 4-1 victory over the Padres on July 12.

Florida will counter with Rick VandenHurk (0-1, 11.81), who will make his first start for the Marlins since April 6. In two April starts, the righthander allowed seven runs in 5 1/3 innings. He was called up from Class AA Carolina late Monday to replace injured lefthanded starter Andrew Miller.

After missing more than a month due to a nerve problem in his elbow, VandenHurk has gone 3-3 with a 4.23 ERA with the Mudcats of the Southern League.

VandenHurk was 1-0 with a 5.65 ERA in four appearances against the Braves last season.