The Atlanta Braves have found their swing as of late. The team has yet to get consistent at the plate, but at the moment they are on a hot streak as they aim to win the series against the San Diego Padres where a number of their old teammates currently reside. The Braves will place Julio Teheran on the mound who has been up and down as of late while Andrew Cashner looks to slow down the Atlanta offense.
The Braves were not predicted to produce much offense this season, but at the moment they are proving that title wrong. The team is one win away from being at .500 while looking to take two of three games from the Padres. Wednesday feature an Atlanta offense that is rarely seen as they produced 14 hits for the 4-1 win. While in the middle of a 6-5 stretch, the Braves are batting .308 with a .362 on-base percentage. That is up from the .245 they were batting with a .310 OBP back at the end of May. Their current average is leading the MLB.
Kelly Johnson certainly played a big role in the effort. He returned from the disabled list after missing 24 games to go 3-for-4 on the night. Meanwhile Chris Johnson and Juan Uribe are also finding their swings as they hope to top Cashner who is taking the mound. The Padres starter is 2-8 on the season while aiming to avoid becoming the first pitcher with nine losses on the season. In his last two starts he has given up 12 runs while receiving just 2.86 runs of support in return. In his last start, he gave up seven runs and eight hits in five innings to Cincinnati.
Teheran will take the mound for the Braves as he looks to straighten out recent struggles. He is currently 0-1 with a 7.64 ERA in his last three starts. He is coming off a seven-innings effort where he gave up four runs and five hits which was his longest time on the field this season. He has yet to record a loss while at Turner Field this season, so returning to Atlanta might be just what he needs to get back on track as he prepares to face old teammates like Justin Upton.