The Atlanta Braves play the second game of a three-game interleague series on the road Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles. Atlanta was off on Thursday and improved to 65-56 with an 11-9 victory over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday. Atlanta has won six straight and nine of its last 10. The Braves lead the National League East by 4 games over the second place Philadelphia Phillies and five games over third place New York.
Freddie Freeman is batting .301 to lead Atlanta and the first baseman has team highs in home runs with 27, hits with 135 and on-base percentage at .399. Shortstop Ozzie Albies is leading the Braves in RBIs with 84. On Saturday, the Atlanta Braves will send Drew Smyly to the mound. The left-hander is 8-3 with an ERA of 4.50, 96 Ks and 38 BBs.
Baltimore continued its spiral downward as the Orioles were defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays 7-2 on Thursday for Baltimore's 15th consecutive loss. The Orioles are 38-52 and last in the American League East 36 games behind the first-place Rays. Baltimore's team ERA continues to grow as the Orioles are last in that statistic at 5.85.
Cedric Mullins is batting .314 to lead Baltimore and the center fielder has team highs in home runs with 21, hits with 142 and on-base percentage at .376. Third baseman Ryan Mountcastle is the leader in RBIs with 64. Baltimore has hit 141 home runs in 120 games. On Saturday, Baltimore will send Matt Harvey to the mound. The right-hander is 6-12 with an ERA of 6.25, 84 Ks and 33 BBs.
