Just five days after the Pirates’ surprising decision to trade All-Star outfielder Nate McLouth to Atlanta, Pittsburgh will visit Turner Field on Monday night to open a four-game series against McLouth and the Braves.
The Pirates will get their first look at Atlanta’s Kenshin Kawakami (3-6, 4.63). The right-hander gave up four runs - three earned - over seven innings Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs as the Braves won 6-5 in 12 innings.
Kawakami has not given up more three earned runs in six straight starts.
Zach Duke (6-4, 2.62) will start for the Pirates on Monday night. Duke has won three of his last four starts after winning two in a row and is 2-3 with a 3.72 ERA in five career starts against the Braves.
The professional makeover of Jeff Francoeur continues.
Given the May 31 game against the Diamondbacks off, followed by the June 1 off day, Francoeur spent hours in the batting cage working to shorten his swing. In Arizona, he put in 400 swings by his own estimate. At Turner Field on the off day, he worked for two hours.
To shorten his swing, he decided to copy Yunel Escobar's approach, mainly adjusting his front foot. He says he could feel the difference in the game Tuesday night against the Cubs, and it made him feel much more confident, enough that he thinks he played better in the field as a result.
Francoeur's most obvious contribution was his bottom-of-the-ninth, two-out, two-run home run, which sent the game into extra innings and eventually a 6-5 win.
But to Francoeur, his 11th inning sacrifice bunt was a bigger deal. It was a career first. It wasn't a work of art, but it worked. He approached manager Bobby Cox about dropping down a bunt in the dugout.
"That's the stuff I used to do," Francoeur said of his entire evening. "Come through. I've been grinding. I know that I need to pick it up and do my part to help this team make a push. Tonight was a good start for me."
The very next night, however, Francoeur struck out swinging with the bases loaded in the sixth inning, negating the most promising thing he said about his new approach: "I really didn't swing at anything dumb tonight."
If the subsequent acquisition of Nate McLouth doesn't have Francoeur looking over his shoulder already, it soon could. One can easily envision an outfield of McLouth in left, Jordan Schafer in center -- assuming he puts his time at Class AAA Gwinnett to good use -- and super-prospect Jason Heyward, currently at Class A Myrtle Beach, in right.
BRAVES 8, BREWERS 7: Even 3B Chipper Jones's five RBIs couldn't make a winner out of rookie RHP Tommy Hanson in his big league debut. Hanson was shaky and allowed six earned runs. The Braves did come back to win the game after Hanson left, having lost command of his fastball after the first three innings.
NOTES, QUOTES
--3B Chipper Jones doesn't know what made him dizzy Saturday night, forcing him out of the game after his fifth-inning at-bat. But he was back in the lineup hitting third -- against a left-handed pitcher, no less -- on Sunday. That was a good thing for the Braves, considering he drove in five of the Braves' eight runs.
--CF Nate McLouth hit in the leadoff position for Sunday's game. Manager Bobby Cox told McLouth he'd try him at both the first and third slots in the order. McLouth scored twice and drove in a run.
--LF Matt Diaz was hitting cleanup for the first time this season. With the Braves facing a left-handed starter and with C Brian McCann sitting out a day game after a night game, manager Bobby Cox batted CF Nate McLouth in the leadoff position and put 3B Chipper Jones back in his accustomed third spot. That left cleanup for Diaz.
BY THE NUMBERS: $1 million -- The contractual roster bonus LHP Tom Glavine was eligible for had he made the Braves' active 25-man roster.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "This is a good lesson to everybody who doesn't know better that this is a business and sometimes it's harsh and you don't like it. But you deal with it." -- 3B Chipper Jones on the release of LHP Tom Glavine.
ROSTER REPORT
--RHP Tommy Hanson's contract was purchased from Class AAA Gwinnett June 7, and the Braves' most talked about pitching prospect since Steve Avery threw six innings in his major league debut and was tagged for seven runs (six earned). He lost command of his fastball a bit after the first three innings.
--1B Casey Kotchman tried to run before the game and couldn't, so the Braves placed him on the 15-day disabled list with a right calf strain, retroactive to June 1. Kotchman was at least five days away from being able to help the Braves in any capacity, and manager Bobby Cox couldn't afford to continue playing down a man.
MEDICAL WATCH:
3B Chipper Jones (dizziness) left the June 6 game.
1B Casey Kotchman (bruised right shin) went on the 15-day disabled list June 7, retroactive to June 1. He left the May 31 game, and he did not play June 2-6.
RHP Jorge Campillo (right shoulder tendinitis) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 29.
RHP Buddy Carlyle (upper back strain) went on the 15-day disabled list May 26.
LHP Jo-Jo Reyes (left hamstring strain) went on the 15-day disabled list May 21.
INF Omar Infante (fractured bone in left hand) went on the 15-day disabled list May 21. He won't return before early July.
RHP Tim Hudson (Tommy John surgery on right elbow in August 2008) went on the 60-day disabled list March 4. He is targeting an August return date, barring setbacks.