The Atlanta Braves take on the Pittsburgh Pirates as both teams meet up for the first time in 2013. Check out the live stream available via MLB.TV at 7:05 p.m. ET. Here are the pitching matchups for this ball game.
The Braves will send youngster Julio Teheran, who has struggled in his first two starts of the season up, to the mound against the Pirates' Jeff Locke, who was once a Braves second-round pick. Both pitchers are young and both pitchers have the advantage over the offense as only four batters from each team have faced these hurlers.
Teheran, who's 22 years old, has two no-decisions this season with a 7.36 ERA. He's surrendered nine runs in 11 innings pitched so far in 2013. Last Friday, the Washington Nationals pounced on him with four runs in his first two innings pitched, only to later see his Braves save him from the loss and eventually win the game. The same thing happened against the Chicago Cubs in the first weekend series of the year. He surrended five runs over six innings pitched only to see the Braves again save him from the loss with a late inning rally that finished with the Upton Brothers homering in a win.
He faces Locke, a 25-year-old lefty who pitched better in his last start. He comes into this game with five earned runs over 11 innings pitched and a 4.09 ERA. In his last start, he struggled with control, but only allowed one run over five innings to the Cincinnati Reds. However, a cause for concern is the four walks he gave up without any strikeouts.
The Braves are coming off a loss to the Kansas City Royals where they snapped a 10-game winning streak. They are 12-2 in the season and facing a 7-7 Pirates team that usually plays decent baseball in the first half of the season. The Pirates are coming off a 5-0 shutout of the St. Louis Cardinals.