Tonight at 7:35 p.m. ET, the Chicago Cubs (12-21) and Atlanta Braves (18-15) go head-to-head at Turner Field in Atlanta for Game 1 of their three-game set. The game can be live streamed for free here. Chicago fans can hear all of the action on WGN 720 while Atlanta fans can do the same on WCNN 680.
Chicago continues its nine game road trip that it is currently 1-1 on while Atlanta starts the last leg of a nightmarish nine-game homestand that has seen the team go 1-5 thus far.
Jason Hammel (4-1, 2.43 ERA) takes the ball for the Cubs while Julio Teheran (2-2, 1.80 ERA) mans the mound for the Braves.
Teheran is a big reason why the Braves staff leads the MLB with a 2.47 ERA. The Braves ace is coming off of a start where he was mostly solid in seven innings but allowed three homers.
"I made a mistake and I've got to pay for it," Teheran said per MLB.com. "And that was the three homers -- three mistakes that I made."
The Braves will look to score runs for Teheran, which they haven't been able to do much this season.
Hammel is coming off of his first no-decision of the season after he struggled with his command while giving up a season-high seven hits and walking two.
"I was trying to find my command -- it really wasn't there," Hammel told MLB.com of his last start. "It was a grind, and I made pitches for most of the night. Two-out walks in the big leagues, those are no good."
One Atlanta player that Hammel will look to be especially careful with is Justin Upton, who is hitting .304 (7-for-23) with two doubles, a homer and seven RBIs in his lifetime against him.
Upton ranks fourth in the MLB in slugging percentage (.597) and fifth in OPS (.974), which both rank third in the National League. He's also fanned 46 times, ranking him tops in the majors while his nine homers are tied for second in the NL.
Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo is fourth in the NL with a .414 on-base percentage and has shown a patient approach this season, ranking tied for fourth in the NL with 23 walks.
The Cubs and Braves will go head-to-head in the first game of a three-game set tonight at Turner Field in Atlanta.
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