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Jair Jurrjens got the best of the Philadelphia Phillies last weekend. The Atlanta Braves hope he can do it again.
Jurrjens looks to remain undefeated on the season and help the Braves prevent a second straight loss to the visiting Phillies on Saturday.
"This is the team we want to beat," said Jurrjens, who is 4-3 with a 2.45 ERA in career 10 starts versus Philadelphia. "It's always exciting to go against the best, that's the team we are chasing (in the East)."
The Braves (21-19) hope Jurrjens can help them bounce back from a 5-4 defeat in Friday's series opener. Atlanta has lost four of six overall since a six-game winning streak, and has dropped five of its last seven home meetings with the Phillies.
"They're really good," Jones told the Braves' official website.
Ryan Howard hit a three-run homer and also scored on Raul Ibanez's tiebreaking single in the eighth Friday to help Philadelphia (25-12) win for the 10th time in 14 games. Howard is just 5 for 26 against the Braves this season, but two of those hits left the park. He's hit 36 career home runs versus Atlanta -- his most against any opponent -- including one off Jurrjens.
Shane Victorino, a .214 lifetime hitter against Jurrjens, extended his hitting streak to 15 games with two hits Friday.
Joe Blanton (1-1, 5.83) takes the mound for the Phillies in his second start since a stint on the DL with a medial impingement in his right elbow. In his return, Blanton threw 66 pitches and allowed three runs in five innings to earn the victory in a 6-4 win at Florida on Monday.
"Five innings is never what you want to go," he said. "But you don't need to come back and throw a complete game after not throwing for two weeks."
The right-hander is 1/3 with a 5.40 ERA in eight starts against the Phillies, including losses in the last two.
Atlanta's Martin Prado, 6 for 16 with two homers against Blanton, had three hits Friday and is batting .361 with 14 RBIs his last 16 games.
After missing the previous two games with a shoulder injury, Braves slugger Jason Heyward was used as a pinch-runner Friday. He is unlikely to see action in the field this weekend.
THE STORY: The Philadelphia Phillies look to put more distance between themselves and the slumping Braves when they meet in the second of a three-game series at Atlanta on Saturday. The Phillies won the first game 5-4 on Friday and lead the Braves by 5 1/2 games. The Braves have lost three of their last four games and have lost three of four games against the Phillies at home.
TV: 1:10 p.m., Comcast SportsNet (Philadelphia), SportSouth (Atlanta)
Jair Jurrjens got the best of the Philadelphia Phillies last weekend. The Atlanta Braves hope he can do it again.
Jurrjens looks to remain undefeated on the season and help the Braves prevent a second straight loss to the visiting Phillies on Saturday.
Pitch MatchupJurrjens (4-0, 1.50 ERA) allowed one run and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings of a 5-2 win at Philadelphia on Sunday to help the Braves take two of three from the four-time reigning NL East champions.
Philadelphia v Atlanta
Joe Blanton
1-1, 5.83 ERA
Last appearance:
5/09 at FLA
5.0 IP, 3 ER
Dec = Win
Jair Jurrjens
4-0, 1.50 ERA
Last appearance:
5/08 at PHI
6.1 IP, 1 ER
Dec = Win
Gameday Lineups
NO. Philadelphia Atlanta
1. J. Rollins, SS M. Prado, LF
2. S. Victorino, CF N. McLouth, CF
3. P. Polanco, 3B C. Jones, 3B
4. R. Howard, 1B E. Hinske, RF
5. B. Francisco, RF D. Uggla, 2B
6. R. Ibanez, LF F. Freeman, 1B
7. W. Valdez, 2B A. Gonzalez, SS
8. D. Sardinha, C D. Ross, C
9. J. Blanton, P J. Jurrjens, P
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Joe Blanton (1-1, 5.83) vs. Braves RH Jair Jurrjens (4-0, 1.50). Blanton has recovered from a miserable start with three respectable outings, although he only has one victory to show for it. He beat Florida in his most recent start, allowing three runs in five innings. His ERA is high, but has steadily come down. He has had tough luck against the Braves, compiling a 1-3 record with a 5.67 ERA in eight career starts. Brian McCann (.400, two homers), Chipper Jones (.353) and Martin Prado (.375) have hit well against him. Jurrjens has been brilliant all season - he has yet to allow more than two runs in a game and has allowed only two runs at Turner Field this year. Jurrjens beat the Phillies in his last start, giving up one run in 6 1/3 innings of a 5-2 win when he outdueled Cole Hamels. He has a 4-3 career record against the Phillies with a 2.45 ERA. He's fared well against Shane Victorino (.214) and Jimmy Rollins (.172) and done OK against Ryan Howard (.296).Jurrjens has consistently been at his best after opening the season on the disabled list with a strained oblique, allowing no more than two runs in any of his five starts and walking just six in 36 innings. The right-hander didn't win his fifth game of 2010 until Aug. 15, hindered by a hamstring strain the caused him to miss nearly two months.
ABOUT THE BRAVES (21-19): Brian McCann's hitting streak ended at 12 games when he went 0-for-4 Friday. Martin Prado lifted his average to .291 by going 3-for-5 and is 9-for-19 over the last four games. With Jason Heyward's shoulder still ailing, Joe Mather got a rare start in right field and responded by going 2-for-3, his first multi-hit game of the season. Cristhian Martinez made his second consecutive long-relief stint in the last week. He pitched four shutout innings and struck out four Friday, which allowed the Braves to mount an ill-fated comeback. He has thrown seven innings of shutout relief. Martinez also recorded his first career hit and drove in two runs.
ABOUT THE PHILLIES (25-12): Ryan Howard hit his ninth homer of the season and went 2-for-4 Friday to improve to 5-for-15 on the road trip. Shane Victorino was 2-for-5 and has hit safely in 15 straight games, and lifted his average to .289. Placido Polanco's 2-for-4 performance Friday improved his career average against Atlanta to .313. Ryan Madson picked up his sixth save Friday and has earned saves in his last four appearances.
FINAL PITCH: Atlanta pitcher Brandon Beachy left Friday's game with an injury to his left oblique after two innings. The severity of the injury was not immediately known, but he is expected to be placed on the disabled list."The biggest thing I see with JJ is he's competing," teammate Chipper Jones told the Braves' official website. "That's what you want every night. JJ is competing and we all feed off of that."
The Braves (21-19) hope Jurrjens can help them bounce back from a 5-4 defeat in Friday's series opener. Atlanta has lost four of six overall since a six-game winning streak, and has dropped five of its last seven home meetings with the Phillies.
"They're really good," Jones told the Braves' official website.
Ryan Howard hit a three-run homer and also scored on Raul Ibanez's tiebreaking single in the eighth Friday to help Philadelphia (25-12) win for the 10th time in 14 games. Howard is just 5 for 26 against the Braves this season, but two of those hits left the park. He's hit 36 career home runs versus Atlanta -- his most against any opponent -- including one off Jurrjens.
Shane Victorino, a .214 lifetime hitter against Jurrjens, extended his hitting streak to 15 games with two hits Friday.
Joe Blanton (1-1, 5.83) takes the mound for the Phillies in his second start since a stint on the DL with a medial impingement in his right elbow. In his return, Blanton threw 66 pitches and allowed three runs in five innings to earn the victory in a 6-4 win at Florida on Monday.
"Five innings is never what you want to go," he said. "But you don't need to come back and throw a complete game after not throwing for two weeks."
The right-hander is 1/3 with a 5.40 ERA in eight starts against the Phillies, including losses in the last two.
Atlanta's Martin Prado, 6 for 16 with two homers against Blanton, had three hits Friday and is batting .361 with 14 RBIs his last 16 games.
After missing the previous two games with a shoulder injury, Braves slugger Jason Heyward was used as a pinch-runner Friday. He is unlikely to see action in the field this weekend.
