Atlanta Braves look to avoid sweep in St. Louis as Jaime Garcia makes 2014 debut for Cardinals

Yesterday the Atlanta Braves lost the series to the St. Louis Cardinals and today the team is trying to salvage the series and keep some distance between themselves and the Washington Nationals, who are just a half game back for the lead in the division.

If the Braves want to turn things around on this road trip, the offense is going to really need to step up. The team has scored just seven runs over the past three losses and throughout their road trip so far (fives games) have scored just 14 runs.

The final matchup in this series pitts Gavin Floyd against Jaime Garcia. Floyd has made just two starts so far this season and Garcia is going to be making his first MLB start of the season after a few stints in the minors. Garcia is recovering from a shoulder operation and will be making his first MLB start in more than a year:

"“I’m at a point where I can compete and I can go out there and do what is asked of me to do,” Garcia told the team’s official website. “Obviously, you don’t have it all figured out, but you go out there and can think about pitching and getting hitters out, not just how bad your shoulder is going to hurt. I’m here. I’ve got to get ready for (Sunday). I’m really excited to be here. I was really anxious to get with this team.”"

Floyd has done well since entering the rotation for the Braves, and is looking at a 2.70 ERA, 2.56 FIP and 2.26 xFIP with 13.1 innings under his belt. During those outings Floyd has also struck out 13 batters and walked just two.

Here are the particulars for the series finale:

Date: May 18, 2014

Start Time: 2:15 p.m.

TV Channel: SportSouth

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

Live Stream: MLB.tv (Click Here, $)

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