Today at 2:10 p.m. ET, the Atlanta Braves (40-37) and Houston Astros (33-46) take the field at Minute Maid Park to close out their three-game set live from Houston. The game can be live streamed here. Atlanta fans can hear all of the action on WCNN 680 while Houston fans can do the same on KBME 790.
Atlanta goes for the sweep as it continues an 11-game road trip it is currently 4-2 on while Houston looks to salvage the final contest of this series and snap a four-game losing streak to close out the first series of a nine-game homestand. The Braves defeated the Astros 3-2 on Tuesday then blanked them 4-0 Wednesday.
Atlanta enters play in second place in the National League East, a game behind the division-leading Washington Nationals while Houston is in last place in the American League West, 15.5 games behind the first place Oakland Athletics.
Mike Minor (2-4, 4.20 ERA) mans the mound for the Braves while the Astros counter with Jarred Cosart, who is 7-5 with a 3.78 ERA.
The Braves are hoping that outfielder Justin Upton is getting hot after going deep Tuesday. Upton is hitting .272 and is tied for the team lead with 16 homers and also has a team-best 42 RBI this season.
"When he gets hot like this, it's really something to watch," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said per MLB.com. "Hopefully, this is the beginning of one of those big runs he can give us."
The Astros hope that their bats will come alive in order to help them avoid getting swept.
"Collectively, I think we need several guys in our lineup to get going," manager Bo Porter told MLB.com. "Again, when you have collectively up and down the lineup many guys scuffling at the same time, obviously it gets magnified a little bit more."
One person whose bat is very hot for Houston is Jose Altuve, who leads the MLB with 105 hits and paces the AL with a .332 average and 28 stolen bases. Altuve is also tied for third in the AL with 23 doubles. Rookie outfielder George Springer has also been solid, leading the team in long balls (14) and RBI (39) while hitting just .240.
Atlanta catcher Evan Gattis paces the team with a .292 average while tying for the team lead with 16 homers and ranking second on the Braves with 39 RBI.
The Braves look to go for the sweep while the Astros try to salvage the final game of a three-game set when these teams take the field at Minute Maid Park this afternoon in Houston.
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