The Atlanta Braves will head on the road on Monday evening for the opening game of a National League showdown against the San Diego Padres.
The Braves still hold a slim advantage in the NL East standings, though they’ve slowed down a bit following a hot start to the season. Atlanta leads the Washington Nationals by just 1.5-games heading into play on Sunday.
Teheran comes in off of back-to-back quality outings
Atlanta is expected to send staff ace Julio Teheran to the mound at Petco Park for the series opener against the Padres. The Braves’ right-hander has been far more effective on the road than he has been at SunTrust Park this season. Teheran has compiled a 3.18 ERA in six road starts compared to a 4.91 mark in the same number of outings at home this year.
He comes in with a 4-3 overall record to go along with a 4.03 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP in 12 starts this season and is fresh off of back-to-back quality outings over his past two trips to the mound. Teheran tossed six innings of three-run ball on the road against the Red Sox before following up that effort with seven innings of two-run ball in his last trip to the mound against the Mets. Unfortunately, he was saddled with the loss in each of those two outings, as the Braves managed to scrape by a total of just three runs during those two games.
In 2017, the Braves’ ace won his only start against the Padres, surrendering just two runs on five hits over six innings of work. Teheran managed to pitch around some trouble in that game, as he issued four walks and struck out five batters on the night. According to Baseball Savant, the current Padres’ lineup owns an expected batting average of just .225 against Teheran heading into Monday’s start.
Richard pitching deeper into games for Padres
The Padres will be sending lefty Clayton Richard to the hill at home for his 13th start of the year on Monday night. The Padres’ veteran has been serviceable on the mound over his last five starts. During that span, Richard has allowed three earned runs or less in four outings, while completing at least six innings in each of those five starts. Richard limited the Marlins to just two runs on four hits in seven innings of work in his last trip to the mound, but was rendered with a no-decision in a 3-2 Padres’ win.
Richard made one start against the Braves in 2017, allowing four earned runs on six hits, including two home runs, to take the loss. He made three more appearances against Atlanta between 2015 and 2016, but all of those outings came out of the bullpen.
The current Braves’ lineup is batting a healthy .333 in 34 plate appearances against Richard.
Trends
Atlanta
- Braves are 8-2 in their last 10 road games vs. a left-handed starter.
- Braves are 13-5 in their last 18 road games.
San Diego
- Padres are 7-23 in their last 30 during game 1 of a series.
- Padres are 0-5 in their last 5 Monday games.
San Diego has won three of Richard’s last four outings coming into Monday’s game and expect that to continue here.
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