Atlanta Braves vs. San Francisco Giants game 3 preview: swept again?

Apr 29, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher

(40) throws the ball against the Miami Marlins during the second inning at Marlins Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves face off against the San Francisco Giants one last time before the St. Louis Cardinals come to town Monday. It would be pretty nice for the team to get some momentum going before that happens.

So, to try and avoid the sweep Alex Wood will take the hill for the Braves against Giants opening day starter Madison Bumgarner. Both pitchers are trying to avoid losing their fourth straight games.

Bumgarner comes into this one with a 3.74 ERA, 3.65 FIP and 3.45 xFIP. He’s striking out 9.89 batters per nine innings pitched, but he’s also walking more than three per nine. Bumgarner is also giving up 1.07 homers per nine innings.

Meanwhile, Alex Wood is sporting a 2.93 ERA, 3.19 FIP and 2.96 xFIP. He’s not striking out as many batters per nine as Bumgarner (8.33), but he is walking less. Just 1.80 BBs per nine innings. If you take a look at the pitchers’ K/BB numbers, Wood has a pretty big advantage with a 4.63 mark compared to Bumgarner’s 2.85 mark.

Hopefully Wood can get some run support today, because he’s had some pretty bad luck with that early this season. Also, it would be nice for the team to score some runs and remind us all that they actually can. Going back to the start of the Miami series, the Braves are scoring just 1.8 runs per game.

That’s not going to cut it.

Date: May 4, 2014

Start Time: 1:35 p.m.

TV Channel: Fox Sports South

Radio: 680 AM/106.7 FM (Local in Atlanta), Full list of Local Affiliates

Live Stream: MLB.tv (Click Here, $)