Braves vs. Padres Preview and Pick

The Atlanta Braves look to keep the San Diego Padres on the skids when the two teams hook up for the 2nd game of a 3-game set Tuesday night at Petco Park.

Atlanta won the series opener 3-1 Monday night, beating the Padres for the 3rd time in 4 games this season.

This is a reversal of last season, when San Diego took 5 of 6 games from the Braves.

The Braves have won 6 of their last 8 games and hold down 3rd place in the NL East, 4 games back of the division-leading Mets.

The Padres, on the other hand, have lost 4 games in a row and 6 of their last 7. They are in last place in the NL West, but only 2 ½ games behind division-leading Arizona and Colorado.

Atlanta is just 11-16 on the road this season, while San Diego is just 10-13 at home.

Atlanta’s Jorge Sosa (1-5, 5.55) has allowed 10 ER in his last 18 1/3 IP. As his ERA might indicate, the over/under is 5-1 in Sosa’s starts this year. Sosa has never started a game vs. San Diego.

San Diego’s Mike Thompson has started one game this year, allowing 3 ER in 5 IP in a win over Arizona last Wednesday. Thompson has never started a game vs. the Braves.

Atlanta owns a .337 team OBP, 9th-best in the NL, and averages 5.2 RPG. But the Braves have scored just 5 runs in their last 3 games, although they’ve won 2 of those games.

San Diego has a .322 team OBP, 3rd-worst in the league, and averages 4.6 RPG.

Braves 1B Adam LaRoche is listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game with a sore neck.

The o/u is 26-17 in Braves games this year, 23-19 in Padres games, and 11-10 at Petco Park.

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The Ultimatecapper Pick: We’ll stick with the hot hand here and figure the Braves to come away a road winner.