Braves hope to wake up bats against visiting Cardinals

The Atlanta Braves will try to snap out of their offensive funk on Wednesday when they host the visiting St. Louis Cardinals in the second game of their three-game series.

The Cardinals won the series opener 5-3 on Monday to hand Atlanta its third straight loss. The Braves have dropped 13 of their last 17 games and their lead in the NL East over Philadelphia, which was 10 1/2 games on May 22, has dwindled to 2 1/2 games.

The Braves were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position on Monday and left two runners on base in the seventh and the bases loaded in the eighth.

"It's up to us to turn it around," said Atlanta manager Walt Weiss. "It's gonna happen, but we have to make it happen, and the guys are doing what they can as far as preparing for the game, working before the game. The information is good, all that stuff, but it's just been one of those tough stretches."

The pitching matchup features a pair of right-handers - St. Louis' Michael McGreevy (3-6, 3.12 ERA) against Atlanta's Reynaldo Lopez (3-1, 3.47).

McGreevy is seeking his first win since May 8. It's not like he's pitched poorly; in his last eight starts he has worked fewer than five innings only once and allowed two or fewer runs on six occasions.

He fired six scoreless innings against Miami on Friday after surrendering five runs in five innings in the previous outing against Kansas City. McGreevy scattered five hits and retired eight of the last nine Marlins he faced.

"A lot of good signs for moving forward, and I'm glad I was able to bounce back from the KC outing," McGreevy said. "So, onto the next one."

McGreevy has never faced the Braves.

Lopez is getting another shot in the starting rotation because of Atlanta's recent pitching problems. But the veteran has been in the bullpen for two months and must get stretched out. The Braves will limit him to around 60 pitches.

In his last outing on Friday against San Francisco, his first start since April 21, Lopez threw three effective innings, giving up one run on four hits with one strikeout. Lopez has made only two career appearances, one start, against the Cardinals, going 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA.

"We feel like he's in a good place right now," Weiss said. "We feel like maybe we need a little help in the rotation."

The Braves are without Spencer Strider (elbow inflammation), probably for the rest of the season. They are giving 37-year-old ace Chris Sale additional rest to save his arm for the stretch run. Bryce Elder and Grant Holmes have had problems lately and rookie JR Ritchie has come back to earth after a hot start. Rumors persist that the Braves will make a move to acquire another starter before the trade deadline.

The Cardinals are without reliever Ryne Stanek (paternity leave) and have replaced him with Ryan Fernandez, who was activated from the injured list. Fernandez pitched 2/3 of an inning on Tuesday, walked two batters and was charged with two wild pitches.

Weiss said Atlanta slugger Ronald Acuna Jr. (hamstring) isn't likely to return before the All-Star Game.

-Field Level Media