Series Preview: Atlanta Braves (13-5) at Colorado Rockies (13-5) (4/22-4/24)

Pitching Probables:
Mon: Mike Minor (ATL) 2-1, 0.95 ERA vs. Jeff Francis (COL) 1-1, 8.25 ERA
Tue: Julio Teheran (ATL) 0-0, 7.31 ERA vs. Jon Garland (COL) 2-0, 3.32 ERA
Wed: Tim Hudson (ATL) 2-1, 4.50 ERA vs. TBA

Comparisons by Position:
C:
Evan Gattis (ATL) : .250/.322/.596 5 HR 12 RBI
Wilin Rosario (COL): .302/.327/.547 4 HR 13 RBI
1B:
Freddie Freeman (ATL): .412/.474/.647 1 HR 7 RBI
Todd Helton (COL): .268/.333/.415 1 HR 10 RBI
2B:
Dan Uggla (ATL): .161/.309/.321 3 HR 4 RBI
Josh Rutledge (COL): .226/.300/.355 2 HR 5  RBI
3B:
Chris Johnson (ATL): .407/.435/.576 2 HR 7 RBI
Chris Nelson (COL): .269/.316/.327 0 HR 4 RBI
SS:
Andrelton Simmons (ATL): .211/.292/.281 1 HR 7 RBI
Troy Tulowitzki (COL): .328/.400/.690 6 HR 17 RBI
LF:
Justin Upton (ATL): .299/.385/.761 9 HR 13 RBI
Carlos Gonzalez (COL): .364/.442/.667 4 HR 12 RBI
CF:
BJ Upton (ATL): .167/.247/.303 2 HR 3 RBI
Dexter Fowler (COL): .250/.348/.633 7 HR 10 RBI
RF:
Jason Heyward (ATL): .121/.261/.259 2 HR 5 RBI
Michael Cuddyer (COL): .333/.403/.617 4 HR 13 RBI

Series Preview:
Two teams tied with the best record in all of baseball will clash for a three game series in Denver beginning tonight. Rockies are off to a red-hot start, winning eight out of their last nine games while the Braves started 12-1 and have started to cool off, losing four out of their last five games including losing three of four to the Pirates over the weekend. Braves will send out Mike Minor, Julio Teheran, and Tim Hudson in the series. Jeff Francis and Jon Garland will start Monday and Tuesday night's game for Colorado. Rockies have yet to name a starter for Wednesday's finale.
Mike Minor took and unfortunate 1-0 loss in his last start against the Royals. Minor pitched six innings while giving up five, hits, gave a run (earned), and struck out five. The offense failed to give their starting pitcher any run support as the Braves had their 10-game winning streak snapped. Opposing Minor will be veteran SP Jeff Francis. In his last start against the Mets, Francis struggled mightily, giving up nine hits on eight runs (six earned), walked four and struck out four in 4.1 innings pitched, but the Rockies came back from a 8-2 deficit to win the game.

Freddie Freeman set to return:
Freddie Freeman is expected to be activated from the 15-day disabled list after missing thirteen games with a right oblique strain suffered on April 6th against the Cubs. Freeman will hit cleanup in tonight's game which moves Chris Johnson back to third. It is assumed Johnson will be the primary third basemen with Freeman back in the lineup. Chris Johnson will enter play tonight leading the NL in hitting with a .407 batting average.

Side note:
The Braves 3-1 loss on Saturday and 4-2 loss on Sunday marked the first two times in which the Braves have lost a game when scoring at least a run.
The Rockies starting pitching has been absolutely brilliant through the first eighteen games of the season, posting 11 quality starts and has an ERA of 3.75 which ranks 12th in the MLB. This is extremely impressive with the Rockies playing their home games in the thin air of Denver.