The Braves handed the Dodgers their worst defeat in three years on Sunday afternoon and now look to capture the series at Turner Field.
Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Braves
Los Angeles suffered a 13-1 blowout defeat in Sunday’s contest against the Braves at Turner Field and have lost 13 of 16 on the road. “We had opportunities, couldn’t get the big hit, nothing you can do about it,” manager Joe Torre said. The loss was the largest margin of defeat this year, as the team is without regulars Casey Blake, Jamey Carroll, Manny Ramirez, Rafael Furcal and Russell Martin. The three runs the Dodgers have scored in the last two games have come on outs, as they are 0-for-20 with runners in scoring position in the series. Los Angeles has posted a 6-5 record after allowing 10 or more runs in a game this season (-90) and are 9-17 in this situation the last three years (-1,340). The club is a disappointing 4-10 as a road underdog of +125 to +150 and the total is 5-9 O/U in those contests. As this series ends, Los Angeles is assured of returning home without consecutive second-half road wins, as they last accomplished this feat on July 3-4 in Arizona.
San Francisco entered this four-game series winning 21 of their last 27 games since July 4, but fell 3-2 in defeat in the opener at Turner Field. The Giants have now dropped back-to-back games for the first time since July 1-2. “We’ve won these kind of games. Look at the Dodgers series,” manager Bruce Bochy said after the game. The club has a good chance of bouncing back over the weekend, given its 6-0-2 series record in their last eight sets. San Francisco is 37-33 this season against teams with a record above .500, while going 25-14 versus losing teams. The Giants are 29-28 on the road this season (+120) and the total is 31-25 O/U in those contests. The team is 46-35 when facing right-handed starters in 2010 (+780) and a solid 166-147 in this situation over the last three seasons (+2,580). San Francisco hasn’t dropped three in a row since a season-high, seven-game skid from June 26-July 2.
New York has dropped 15 of its last 21 games, including a 14-1 blowout loss to the last-place Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday. “It definitely hurts your pride a little bit when you perform in that manner,” manager Jerry Manuel said. “We didn’t pitch, we didn’t hit, we didn’t play defense.” The Mets now head to a field where they’ve dropped 15 of their last 20 meetings. The team has taken five of the first eight meetings between the two clubs, but they’ve yet to win a season series over the Braves since the 2006 season. Offensively, the club is hitting just .210 with 54 runs scored and 15 home runs in 17 games since the All-Star break. New York is 19-20 against divisional opponents this season (-350) and the total is 16-22 O/U in those contests. The Mets will try to avoid dropping to the .500 mark for the first time since June 2, when the team stood at 27-27.
