Atlanta will try to bounce back from a loss to Houston when it travels to Pittsburgh for a series opener on Monday night. The Braves took the first two games of their series against the Astros before losing in a 5-4 final on Sunday. Pittsburgh is on a two-game losing skid after allowing 19 combined runs in a pair of games against Cincinnati.
Atlanta looked like it might be on its way to falling out of National League East contention when it lost three straight games against the Mets earlier this month, but the Braves responded in a huge way. They went on an eight-game winning streak and won 11 of their next 12 games overall, including three out of four against New York last week. Atlanta built on that momentum with a pair of wins against Houston over the weekend, but it dropped a 5-4 decision on Sunday in the series finale. The Braves are now hitting the road for a six-game road trip that features a stop in St. Louis next weekend. They are four games back of New York in the division standings, but they are comfortably in the playoff picture.
Great home stand from bravos!
— Luke Jackson (@YaBoy77) August 21, 2022
The Braves have been a strong offensive team this season, ranked ninth in the majors in batting average (.252). Shortstop Dansby Swanson leads the way with 140 hits, while third baseman Austin Riley has a team-best 31 home runs. They will be facing a Pittsburgh pitching staff that is No. 27 with an ERA of 4.69. Right-handed pitcher Jake Odorizzi is going to start for Atlanta on Monday night. He is coming off a brutal appearance, allowing five runs on eight hits and two walks across five innings against New York. Odorizzi has allowed nine runs in 13.2 innings in Atlanta, inflating his ERA to 4.15 overall this season.