Braves' Foltynewicz, Pirates' Archer meet again

Braves' Foltynewicz, Pirates' Archer meet again

Just when it appeared Atlanta right-hander Mike Foltynewicz was on his way to regaining his place of prominence in the Braves' rotation, he took a step backward. On Tuesday, he'll get another chance to make a correction against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the same team that defeated him a week ago.

Foltynewicz (1-5, 5.89 ERA) will be opposed by right-hander Chris Archer (3-5, 5.20) in the second game of a four-game set in Atlanta. The Braves belted five home runs in winning the first game 13-7 on Monday.

Atlanta has won four straight and moved into a tie with the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the National League East. Pittsburgh has dropped four in a row.

Archer and Foltynewicz went head-to-head in their last start, with the Pirates prevailing 6-1 on Thursday.

Foltynewicz wasn't bad; he gave up three runs on six hits in six innings. But two of the hits left the ballpark, and the veteran has allowed 15 homers in 44 1/3 innings. He gave up only 17 home runs a year ago.

"He's going to be there," Atlanta catcher Brian McCann said. "The ball is coming out of his hand really good, and the stuff is as good as it comes. We'll get more consistent and be better."

In five career starts against the Pirates, he is 1-4 with a 6.26 ERA in 23 innings.

After getting rocked for 10 runs in 8 1/3 innings in his first two starts against Pittsburgh (10.80 ERA), he has allowed seven runs, six earned, over 14 2/3 innings in the last three starts (3.68 ERA).

Archer has also struggled at times this season, but the right-hander looked more like the sort of pitcher the Pirates have been expecting last week against the Braves. In six-plus innings, he allowed one run on six hits and two walks. He struck out six.

Contrast that with his 7.40 ERA in four May starts and it's easy to understand the optimism. Archer has won his past two starts after dropping his previous five.

Archer was able to effectively set up his slider by throwing his four-seam and two-seam fastballs for strikes.

"Slider's playing much better because they're gearing up to hit the fastball," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said.

Archer will be making his fourth career start against the Braves. He is 1-1 with a 1.69 ERA vs. Atlanta and has yielded only one home run in 16 innings -- that coming against Freddie Freeman in the first inning a week ago.

On Monday, Atlanta right fielder Nick Markakis became the 251st major-leaguer to reach 1,000 RBI since the statistic became official in 1920. The veteran was 4-for-5 with his fifth homer and four RBIs, upping his career total to 1,002.

Pittsburgh rookie Bryan Reynolds had his league-leading 17-game hitting streak end on Monday when he went 0-for-5. It was the longest streak by a Pittsburgh rookie since 2010 when Neil Walker hit in 18 straight. Teammate Starling Marte was 3-for-5 and is 23-for-54 (.426) in his past 12 games.

--Field Level Media

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