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Lowe looks to build on impressive debut for Braves

Apr 9, 2009 - 8:13 PM By Matt Becker Stats Senior Writer

Washington (0-3) at Atlanta (2-1), 7:35pm, EDT

ATLANTA (AP) -- The Braves signed Derek Lowe in the offseason with the hope that he could anchor a revamped rotation and help Atlanta get back to the playoffs.

The two-time All-Star certainly looked up to the task in his debut.

Lowe looks to build on an impressive first outing when he takes the ball in Friday's home opener against the Washington Nationals, who are seeking their first victory of the season.

Lowe signed a $60 million, four-year contract in January and pitched like a staff ace in the season opener, allowing two hits and no walks in eight shutout innings of a 4-1 win over Philadelphia on Sunday. The sinkerballer induced 13 groundouts and had six 1-2-3 innings.

"He was awesome," manager Bobby Cox said. "He really knows how to pitch."

Lowe is now set to make his Braves debut at Turner Field, where he's 2-2 with a 4.04 ERA in six starts.

"I've always loved pitching at Turner Field," Lowe told the team's official Web site. "That doesn't mean that I've necessarily had great success there. But I've also never had the Braves fans cheering for me either. I look forward to it."

Braves fans are hoping Lowe can help Atlanta (2-1) return to the postseason for the first time since 2005. To accomplish that, the Braves need to end their poor play against the NL East and Nationals.

The Braves finished fourth last season due in large part to a 31-41 mark against division opponents - their worst such record since going 28-44 in 1989. They even struggled against Washington (0-3), which went a major league-worst 59-102.

Atlanta was 6-12 versus the Nationals last season - the first time it had a losing record against the Washington franchise since going 6-7 in 2000.

"It's always important to win games within your division, and we have a really good chance to get off to a good start within our division," said Lowe, who went 1-1 with a 1.13 ERA in two starts versus the Nationals last season and is 5-1 with a 2.41 ERA in six career starts versus them.

The Braves are off to a good start in the East after taking two of three from the reigning World Series champion Phillies.

Atlanta was on the verge of sweeping Philadelphia but allowed the Phillies to rally with eight runs in the seventh inning of Wednesday's 12-11 loss.

Third baseman Chipper Jones (bruised left thumb) and left fielder Garret Anderson (right calf strain) were late scratches Wednesday.

While Anderson could miss Friday's contest, Jones is expected to be back in the lineup for the home opener. Jones, 4-for-8 with two doubles and a solo homer, led the majors with a .399 home batting average last season.

The Nationals arrive in Atlanta after being outscored 26-13 in a three-game sweep by Florida. Washington is off to its worst start since opening with seven consecutive losses in 1998 when the franchise was based in Montreal.

"I'm happy with the way were are swinging the bat," manager Manny Acta said after Wednesday's 6-4 loss. "We just got completely outpitched by them."

Shairon Martis hopes to reverse that trend as he makes his season debut. Martis earned the fourth spot in the rotation by posting a 2.76 ERA in seven spring training games.

The right-hander made his major league debut against the Braves on Sept. 4, allowing two runs, four hits and five walks in five innings of a 2-0 loss. He went 1-3 with a 5.89 ERA in four starts last season.