Once again the Atlanta Braves failed to generate much of any offense when they faced off against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday and now they are preparing to face one of the National League rookie of the year finalists in hopes of beating the young star at his game. Shelby Miller might not be dominating as much as he did in 2013 as he struggles with control issues, but with the Braves offense, getting a win might not be that hard.
Miller won 15 games in 2013, but is struggling some right now with a 5-2 record and 3.22 ERA. He has walked 5.44 batters per nine innings so far which is the worst ratio in the league. His pitches have been all over the place and the Cardinals are hoping that he can start to turn things around. He has not lasted longer than six innings in his eight starts this year and is certainly not looking like his rookie of the year self.
Right now, Miller is on a streak with three wins. He is 2-1 against the Braves lifetime and beat them by one run back in May. The Cardinals need him to settle the team down after tempers flared on Friday causing ejections over a controversial balls and strikes call.
The Braves will send Aaron Harang to the mound. He is 4-3 with a 2.98 ERA and is facing Miller for the second time. He gave up four runs and nine hits over six innings, but bounced back against the Chicago Cubs with two runs and nine strike outs in the win. Harang has pitched well since being a late addition, but like every other Braves starter, he is not getting the run support to help him. In all of his starts, he has gotten a combined 18 runs.
Atlanta is enjoying the emergence of Chris Johnson who is on fire lately. He is batting .377 in the month of May, leading the Braves lineup. The rest of the team has been the reason Atlanta has lost six of seven on the road while being 11 of 16 overall.
Watch Braves vs. Cardinals live stream, click here.
