Braves first half a tale of two cities

Baseball Betting Lines

07/10/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The first portion of the Atlanta Braves' 2008 season can easily be summed up: great at home and horrid on the road.

Heading into an off day on Thursday, the Braves stand fourth in the National League East with a 43-49 mark, 6 1/2 games back of the first-place Philadelphia Phillies. However, it is safe to say that if Atlanta played half as well on the road as it does at home, the club would be running away with the NL East.

Atlanta is a solid 30-18 at Turner Field this year, good for the second-most wins as the host club in the NL. The Braves have countered their solid home play, though, by posting the fewest wins on the road in all of the majors with a 13-31 mark as the visitor.

The Braves are batting 42 points higher at home than on the road and have scored 238 runs at Turner Field (3rd in the NL), compared to 167 runs on the road, good for 14th in the league. The only thing consistent for the Braves is their earned run average, which is 3.63 at home and 3.86 on the road.

Atlanta's inability to win on the road is magnified in close games. The Braves are currently riding a major-league record of 24 straight road losses in one-run games dating back to August 10, 2007. The club is just 5-22 in one- run games this year after Wednesday's 2-1 setback to the Dodgers, including 0-17 on the road.

"We've had some tough luck all year," Tim Hudson told Atlanta's official Web site after Wednesday's loss. "It's seemed like all the tough breaks have gone against us."

The bottom line for the Braves going into the second half is easy. Simply put, win on the road or risk missing the postseason for a third straight season.

FIRST HALF STUDS

All-Star starter Chipper Jones tops this list for the Braves. Jones was batting .400 as recently as June 18, but has watched his average fall to a still outstanding .375 thanks to a current 0-for-10 skid. Still, Jones is exceeding expectations the Braves must have had for the 36-year-old third baseman coming into the season. He has 18 homers and 50 RBI and is hitting .423 off of left-handed hurlers. Jones is slated to play in his sixth All-Star game, his first since 2001.

Catcher Brian McCann will join Jones in New York as an All-Star. McCann is hitting .290 this year with 17 homers and 50 RBI, and his home run total and 25 doubles are tops among NL among catchers. He is batting .300 (62-for-207) since May 3 with 11 homers and 36 RBI.

Rookie Jair Jurrjens has been outstanding since coming over this past offseason in a trade with Detroit that sent shortstop Edgar Renteria to the Tigers. The 22-year-old starter is 9-4 on the season with a 3.04 ERA and won NL Rookie of the Month honors for June after posting a 3-0 mark and 1.63 ERA in four starts in the month.

A lot has to be said of the effort Hudson has put forth this year. Hudson is the de facto ace due to injuries to John Smoltz (shoulder) and Tom Glavine (elbow) and has responded by going 9-7 with a 3.16 ERA in 20 starts. That includes a solid 7-1 record in nine home starts with a shutout and 2.13 ERA.

FIRST HALF DUDS

Jeff Francoeur has fallen a long way since 2007, when he hit .293 with 19 homers and 105 RBI. The outfielder is hitting just .234 in 87 games with nine homers, 42 RBI, 63 strikeouts and a short stint in Double-A Mississippi. His struggles this year caused his 370 consecutive games played run to come to an end, as he sat out a contest on May 20 to clear his head. It hasn't worked so far.

The Braves entered this season with the hopes that Rafael Soriano would hold down the closer role. However, the right-hander has pitched in just nine games, posting three saves and a blown save before landing on the DL due to right elbow inflammation in early June.

Mike Hampton continues to tease the Braves. The lefty hasn't pitched since 2005 due to Tommy John surgery, a strained left oblique and torn flexor tendon in his left elbow. He has already had setbacks this year, as he is on the DL with a strained left pectoral muscle despite having not thrown a pitch, but seems poised to give it another go as he is slated to make another rehab start on Thursday night with Mississippi.

ON DECK

Atlanta continues its six-game road trip with three games in San Diego after losing two of three to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Lefty Jo-Jo Reyes (3-7, 4.40 ERA) faces Jake Peavy (6-5, 2.67) on Friday, followed by Charlie Morton (1-2, 6.84) versus Greg Maddux.

Sunday's finale pits Jorge Campillo (3-4, 3.06) versus Randy Wolf (5-8, 4.59) in the club's final game before the All-Star break.