Atlanta starter Shelby Miller began the season on fire, picking up five wins in his first nine starts. That success, however, seems so long ago for Miller, who hasn’t won since late May. With the San Francisco Giants in front of him tonight, will Miller be able to notch a refreshing victory? Or will San Francisco strengthen its bid for at least a wild card slot in the National League with a win over Atlanta?
Read on for a detailed preview of this game. You can also click here for an overview of tonight’s matchup between the Cards and the Reds.
[sc:MLB240banner ]It’s been a flawless second half of the season for Jake Peavy. After failing to record a win in the first half, the 13-year veteran now is 2-0 with a 3.44 ERA in three starts since the midseason break. He’ll be eyeing another win when he takes the mound at Turner Field later tonight. The Giants are 3-0 in their last three trips to Atlanta.
In his most recent start, Peavy (2-4, 4.12 ERA) shut the Brewers down, as he allowed no runs, no walks, and just four hits in six innings of work to lead San Francisco to a 5-0 win at home. Peavy didn’t pick up a win in that game, though, as the Giants were only able to score in the bottom of the seventh inning, when he was already pulled out of the game. Nevertheless, Peavy has been enjoying ample run support of late, as the Giants supplied him 4.26 RS/9 in five starts in July.
The Giants, who recently had a six-game win streak, are averaging 5.1 runs thus far in the second half. They will be looking to improve on that number when San Francisco’s hitters face Shelby Miller. Brandon Crawford, who’s been on some kind of funk of late (.217 in his last six games), has a career .375 batting average opposite the Braves’ starter. Buster Posey, meanwhile, is hitting 8-for-22 (.364) in his last six games.
Shelby Miller’s free fall continues after failing to notch a win on Thursday, as Atlanta was beaten by the Phillies, 4-1. Miller was simply out of his element, as he gave up all four Philadelphia runs on 11 hits. For those keeping count, that’s the Braves’ eighth-straight loss with Miller on the mound.
That stinky stretch, however, can’t be entirely blamed on Miller, who enters tonight’s game with a 5-8 record and a 2.44 ERA. A lot of his misfortunes can be pinned on the Braves’ weak run support that has scored only nine total runs during those eight starts—a pathetic 0.88 run per game average.
Maybe the sight of Peavy on the mound will spark fire on Atlanta’s offense. A.J. Pierzynski, for one, is a career .267 (4-for-15) against the righty. Leadoff hitter Nick Markakis, meanwhile, is .333 (6-for-18) in the same matchup.
