Stripling out to slow surging Braves for LA

Part-time stockbroker and current Dodgers right-hander Ross Stripling will attempt to add to the excitement surrounding his blossoming career when he takes the mound to oppose Julio Teheran and the Braves on Wednesday night at Turner Field. Atlanta, which won the series opener, is going for its fifth straight win.

Stripling gained the attention of the baseball world as he flirted with a no-hitter during his April 8 Major League debut. The 26-year-old right-hander tossed 7 1/3 hitless innings against the Giants and was lifted after 100 pitches, with the Dodgers wanting to protect his arm. Stripling is two years removed from Tommy John surgery.

The Braves will be getting their first look at Stripling, who limited the D-backs to two runs over six innings on Thursday in his second start.

Teheran was scheduled to start on Tuesday, but the Braves pushed him back a day because he had developed a fever while battling a cold on Monday night. Teheran limited the Nationals to two solo home runs over six innings on Opening Day, but he has allowed 10 earned runs over 11 innings in his past two starts.

Things to know about this game

• Teheran has posted a 5.56 ERA and surrendered 1.82 home runs per nine innings on the road since the start of the 2015 season. But at Turner Field during that span, he has posted a 3.10 ERA and surrendered 0.83 HR/9.

• Yasiel Puig hasn't seen much of Teheran, but he has found success against him. Puig has four hits in six at-bats against the Braves' ace, with a double and a homer. He's also drawn two walks. The current Dodgers actually have feasted on Teheran, batting .329 and slugging .494 with an .894 OPS. Their two weakest hitters against Teheran are Carl Crawford and A.J. Ellis, neither of whom will be in the lineup Wednesday.

• Stripling is a licensed stockbroker who does money management during the offseason in the New York office of Wunderlich Securities. Stripling was a finance major at Texas A&M and a fifth-round pick of the Dodgers in 2012. He invested his signing bonus in Facebook, Under Armor and Apple.

Braves down Dodgers for 4th straight win

 Alex Wood's bid for a memorable homecoming was undone by his inconsistent command and a suddenly vibrant offense that helped the rejuvenated Braves claim an 8-1 win over the Dodgers on Tuesday night at Turner Field.

Tyler Flowers matched a career high with four hits and Jeff Francoeur notched his own multi-hit game for the Braves, who have won four straight since opening the season with nine consecutive losses. Flowers notched an RBI single in each of his three at-bats against Wood and Francoeur fueled a two-run first inning with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly.

"It's not the way we wanted to start, lose nine and then win four," Francoeur said. "But at the same time, [heck], you might as well keep going."

Wood, who spent most of the previous three seasons with the Braves, was burdened by two costly errors and the command issues he displayed while allowing six runs -- three earned -- over four innings.

Because he was pitching on short rest in place of the ill Julio Teheran, Braves starting pitcher Williams Perez lasted just 3 1/3 innings. Ryan Weber stranded the two runners he inherited in the fourth inning and earned his first career win after limiting the Dodgers to one run over 3 2/3 innings.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Fourth-inning insurance: After Perez exited with a 4-0 lead in the top half of the fourth, Wood retired the first two batters he faced in the bottom half before the Braves started a rally with a Freddie Freeman walk and an error by Corey Seager. Francoeur followed with his second RBI of the night to set the stage for Flowers, whose third RBI single gave the Braves a 6-0 lead.

Unhappy homecoming: Wood's much-anticipated return to Turner Field did not unfold like he had envisioned. The former Brave and University of Georgia product struggled all night with his control, striking out only one while walking three and hitting two -- his first two of the season and the same number of batters he hit in his first 14 starts with the Dodgers, covering 82 1/3 innings. More >

"A lot of them came out swinging early, especially in the first inning. It surprised me a little bit on some of them," said Wood. "[Nick] Markakis, Freddie [Freeman], those guys have started swinging a lot earlier in the count. I had to adjust. But with my fastball command what it was, it was kind of tough to battle between the aggressive hacks and not being able to throw it where I wanted to."

Immediate need: After being forced to use Matt Wisler, who was originally slated to start Tuesday's game, in the 10th inning of Sunday's win, the Braves promoted Weber from Triple-A Gwinnett to serve as a long reliever. Perez kept the Dodgers hitless before surrendering consecutive one-out hits in the fourth. But the right-hander was wavering, so Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez signaled for Weber, who limited the Dodgers to the fifth-inning run that was tallied courtesy of two well-placed singles that eluded second baseman Daniel Castro.

"Perez was struggling," Gonzalez said. "He had walked three up to that point and the swings were starting to get better. He did his job. He came back a day short because of Julio. I'm a believer in putting guys in position where they're going to be successful. We had a four-run lead at the time and I didn't want to mess around. So, we brought Webby in. That was my thought and it worked out perfect."

Whoops, there it is: Los Angeles was uncharacteristically shaky fielding behind Wood. The Dodgers, who entered the game with the best fielding percentage in the Majors, were charged with a season-high three errors, leading to three unearned runs. Prior to Tuesday night, Los Angeles had committed only four errors and had allowed just one unearned run. Third baseman Justin Turner committed two of the miscues. He had been perfect in 27 opportunities coming into the game. Seager also hadn't committed an error before his fourth-inning miscue.

"That extends innings and gets guys up to the plate, kind of gets them rolling," said Seager. "They move around, they move up bases on you. It kind of changes the whole atmosphere of the game."

QUOTABLE
"He was only hitting [.130], but this kid is going to keep developing and we're glad he is developing in the big leagues." Gonzalez, on Mallex Smith, who highlighted Tuesday's career-high three-RBI game with a two-run double in the seventh.

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Flowers' four-hit game was the third of his career and his second within his past eight games dating back to Sept. 30, when he notched four hits for the White Sox.

Francoeur's multi-hit game was his first for the Braves since July 9, 2009 -- the day before he was traded to the Mets.

WHAT'S NEXT
Dodgers: The Dodgers play the middle game of this three-game set, with first pitch set for Wednesday at 4:10 p.m. PT. Rookie righty Ross Stripling will make his third career start and look to continue the roll he's been on. The 26-year-old has allowed three earned runs in 13 1/3 innings. Opponents are hitting .116 against him.

Braves: Teheran will take the mound when Atlanta resumes its three-game set against the Dodgers on Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. ET. Teheran was scratched from Tuesday's start because he carried a fever while battling a cold on Monday. The right-hander has struggled in his past two starts.

Bettis, Iglesias to face off in Rockies-Reds rubber match

About the middle of last season, Rockies right-hander Chad Bettis went from finding his way to making his way through lineups. Bettis, who will start Wednesday's midday special in the finale of a three-game set against the Reds at Great American Ball Park, is 6-2 with a 3.23 ERA in 12 starts since last July 12. He was in his hot streak before he realized it.

"I started to realize that toward the end of the year, not back near the All-Star break," Bettis said after holding the Cubs scoreless for six innings in his last start. "It was just a feeling that I know exactly what I want to do after every pitch I throw, and something I'd like to get back to. This [game against the Cubs] was definitely a step in the right direction."

Righty Raisel Iglesias (1-1, 3.24 ERA), the Reds' Opening Day starter, has stayed solidly in the strike zone, with 14 strikeouts against four walks in his three starts.

Three things to know:

• Reds leadoff hitter Zack Cozart's RBI single off Jorge De La Rosa in the second inning Tuesday night extended his hit streak to 10 games.

• The Reds stole five bases in the second inning Tuesday -- the most the Rockies have ever yielded in one inning. It was clear the Reds were running on De La Rosa, and Rockies catcher Tony Wolters threw out 40 percent of attempted basestealers in the Minors, and he had erased two of the first three this year before Tuesday.

• Rockies first baseman-left fielder Ben Paulsen has hit safely in five of his last six games.

Reds run rampant in win vs. Rockies

In a game where Brandon Phillips was a homer shy of hitting for the cycle, they stole five bases in one inning and Robert Stephenson cruised in his second big league start, the Reds held on to a 4-3 victory from the Rockies on Tuesday at Great American Ball Park.

All of the damage against Colorado starter Jorge De La Rosa came during a four-run bottom of the second inning when the Reds sent nine men to the plate and collected five hits with five steals. Down by a run entering the frame, Phillips led off with a single and later scored from third base on Jay Bruce's fielder's choice. Billy Hamilton chopped a two-out, two-run double into short left field, and Zack Cozart added an RBI single.

De La Rosa was lifted after his first two batters reached in the third inning.

"My command wasn't there," De La Rosa said. "The first inning was a good inning, but after that I don't know what happened. I lost my concentration and they hit the ball pretty good."

Lefty reliever Chris Rusin kept the game in reach, allowing two hits over four scoreless innings. Stephenson, who was called up from Triple-A Louisville when Alfredo Simon was scratched with biceps tendinitis, became the first Reds starter to complete seven innings this season. Stephenson allowed one earned run on three hits and two walks and struck out three.

"I was definitely happy to be able to help the team as much as I could," said Stephenson, the Reds' No. 2 prospect. "The defense played awesome behind me. We had that big inning in the second inning to jump ahead and get that lead."

• Stephenson returning to Minors after strong start

Caleb Cotham followed Stephenson with a perfect eighth inning. Tony Cingrani opened the ninth by striking out the first batter before J.J. Hoover gave up an infield hit and Mark Reynolds' two-out, two-run homer on a full count. Ben Paulsen drove Hoover's final pitch deep, but not deep enough to tie the score.

"The fact that we were still within striking distance after the way that game started, I was very happy with that," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "Going into the eighth and ninth, we thought we had a chance to win that game."

The Rockies scored their first run in the top of the second inning when Paulsen singled home Reynolds who had doubled and advanced to third on a balk.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Hot-hitting Cozart: Cincinnati already had three runs in the bottom of the second when Cozart prolonged the rally with a 10-pitch at-bat vs. De La Rosa. Cozart fouled off four straight full-count pitches before ripping an RBI single to left field that scored Hamilton. The single extended Cozart's hitting streak to begin the season to 10 games. Cozart also entered the night 6-for-12 (.500) this season when batting with two strikes.

Give the man a chance: Rockies catcher Tony Wolters threw out 40 percent (88-for-220) of those attempting to steal against him in his Minor League career. But he had no chance in the second inning on Tuesday, as the Reds' five steals -- the most ever against the Rockies in an inning and tied for third-most in a game -- were exclusively the product of De La Rosa's deliberateness. Just once, on Bruce's swipe of third in a double-steal, did Wolters even make a throw.

"I wasn't paying attention to the runner," De La Rosa said. "I have to do a better job than that."

Bruce stole his first two bases of the season in the inning, and Tyler Holt, Hamilton andEugenio Suarez each swiped one. According to Retrosheet, it was Cincinnati's first five stolen base inning since July 8, 1922, vs. the Phillies.

Nearly a natural cycle: Phillips went 4-for-4 in the game, lacking the home run that would've given him a natural cycle. After he singled in the second inning, Phillips hit a leadoff double in the third inning and got his triple in the fifth when Carlos Gonzalez fell down while fielding a drive to the right-field wall. Batting against David Hale in the eighth with a 1-1 count, Phillips shot a sharp single up the middle for his fourth hit. How sharp? According to Statcast™, the ball had an exit velocity off the bat at 109 mph. The last Red to hit for the cycle was Eric Davis on June 2, 1989.

"I was telling [Davis] I'm going to get a cycle before I leave. I talked to him maybe two or three days ago," Phillips said. "It's funny I came close for doing it today. When I hit that triple, I was like 'Oh snap, here we go. I'm about to get E.D.' I really tried. It was a good miss. I ended up getting a hit but I swung out of my [shoes], I really did."

Room enough for both:The right-handed-hitting Reynolds and the left-swinging Paulsen have been sharing first base. But the absence of regular center fielder Charlie Blackmonallowed an outfield shuffle that opened left field for Paulsen on Tuesday. They combined for a run in the second when Reynolds doubled and Paulsen singled him home for a brief 1-0 lead.

Paulsen had a breath-holding moment in the fifth, when three-time Gold Glove Award-winning third baseman Nolan Arenado picked up Devin Mesoraco's bouncer with a man at third and took Reynolds into foul ground for the throw. Reynolds seemed to surprise himself by doing nearly a full split.

"He's made a couple plays where everybody kind of dropped their jaw, but that one was special," Paulsen said. "Mark's a machine out there."

QUOTABLE
"I knew that would be a question today after tonight's game. It's just kind of a tenuous situation at this point in time. I want him to be able to handle that situation, and we need performance as well. I'm going to sleep on it, and I will probably have a better answer moving ahead tomorrow." -- Reds manager Bryan Price, on Hoover, who has a 15.19 ERA with three homers allowed in seven appearances

"I'm not going to jump to that conclusion yet, but the last time out he used his fastball much better. It complements his changeup. That's a big part of his recipe for success -- that fastball-changeup. He's got to use the fastball more." -- Weiss, when asked if abandoning the fastball is a red flag for De La Rosa, whose average velocity coming into Tuesday was down more than 1 mph from last year

THERE WHEN YOU NEED HIM
Tuesday was the second time in a week that Rusin has been solid after replacing a struggling starter. In his previous outing on April 13, Rusin replaced Jordan Lyles with two out in the fifth, struck out the Giants' Brandon Belt and went 2 1/3 scoreless inning to earn credit for the team's 10-6 victory.

"Just be ready in my name was called, and I was fortunate to throw four scoreless innings and save the bullpen for tomorrow or whenever," Rusin said. More >

WHAT'S NEXT
Rockies: Right-hander Chad Bettis (2-0, 2.95 ERA), who held the Cubs scoreless on three hits in six innings in his last start, will face the Reds in the finale of the three-game set at Great American Ball Park on Wednesday at 10:35 a.m. MT on MLB Network.

Reds: The 12:35 p.m. ET series finale between Cincinnati and Colorado will be televised by MLB Network. The Reds will have Raisel Iglesias make his fourth start. Iglesias has yet to give up more than three earned runs this season, but he also has yet to complete seven innings.

D-backs, Giants continue showdown in San Francisco

After Monday's 11-inning showdown in the opener of the season series, a 9-7 Arizona win, the D-backs and Giants hope to get deep starts from Robbie Ray and Matt Cain, a pair of pitchers who saw their most recent starts head in the wrong direction in one inning.

Ray, the D-backs left-hander, tossed six shutout innings against the Dodgers on Thursday before L.A. managed to score five runs in the seventh, mostly due to some poor relief pitching. Ray has improved his pitch efficiency this year, but he has still walked five.

Cain, meanwhile, was dominant through four innings against the Rockies on Thursday at Coors Field before things went south in a hurry in the fifth. The Rockies scored nine runs in the inning, six of which were charged to Cain, who got a pair of outs.

Things to know about this game

• Slumping Giants third baseman Matt Duffy was out of the starting lineup for the series opener, but he's expected to be back in the lineup Tuesday. Duffy, the runner-up for National League Rookie of the Year last season, is hitting .170 after going 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter on Monday.

• Ray has faced the Giants just once in his career, allowing two earned runs in five innings last July 17.

• In his career against the D-backs, Cain is 14-7 with a 3.49 ERA in 34 starts.

Bucs to begin long trip with series in San Diego

The Pirates' rotation will be back at full strength Tuesday night at Petco Park. After skipping a start due to a tight right hamstring, left-hander Francisco Liriano will get back on the mound as the Bucs open a three-game series vs. Colin Rea and the Padres.

The Pirates hope having Liriano back in the fold will help stabilize their rotation and especially their bullpen, which had to work overtime over the last week and struggled as a result.

"Having Francisco back in play is definitely an opportunity for us to leverage a strength," manager Clint Hurdle said. "I'd like to believe the continuity of the starts will give us more continuity in the back end of the bullpen and through the other guys out there, so we can settle guys down and find some routine and roles that we want to build upon."

The Padres will counter with right-hander Rea, who will be making his first career start against the Pirates. Rea breezed through seven strong innings against the Phillies on 94 pitches in his last outing, a stark contrast to when he needed 90 pitches to battle through 3 1/3 innings in his season debut.

Things to know about this game

• This game starts a 16-day stretch in which the Pirates will play 16 games before their next scheduled off-day on May 5. Including Monday, Pittsburgh had three off-days built into the first two weeks of its regular-season schedule. This 10-game road trip will take the Bucs through San Diego, Arizona and Colorado.

• Padres shortstop Alexei Ramirez and outfielder Melvin Upton Jr. have hit well against Liriano. Ramirez is hitting .419 (13-for-31) and Upton is 8-for-24 against the veteran left-hander. Liriano has dominated Matt Kemp (1-for-14, five strikeouts) and Derek Norris (1-for-13, six strikeouts), however.

• Expect to see left fielder Starling Marte back in the Pirates' lineup Tuesday. Taking a cautious approach, the Bucs held Marte out of Sunday's starting lineup due to concerns about his right hand, which was hit by a pitch Saturday night.

Wood makes Atlanta return to open series

Prior to leaving Miami and heading back to Atlanta on Sunday, a reporter joked to Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez that now comes the easy part of the schedule when they host the Dodgers on Tuesday, in the first of a three-game series against the reigning National League West champions.

"Yeah, right," Gonzalez answered with a laugh. "What's that kid's name? And the other guy?"

Gonzalez was referring to rookie Ross Stripling (the 'kid' who flirted with a no-hitter his first start) and of course Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw. But the Dodgers will not have to face either one right away, as Alex Wood (1-1, 4.50 ERA) is scheduled to make his third start for the Dodgers in the series opener. It will be the former Braves lefty's first start at Turner Field against his former team since being traded to the Dodgers last July.

As for the Braves' starting pitcher on Tuesday, it was scheduled to be Matt Wisler, but he was needed to pitch in relief in the 10th inning on Sunday in the Braves' 6-5 win at Miami. Williams Perez will make the start and Wisler now will be pushed to a Thursday start. Julio Teheran is scheduled to pitch on Wednesday.

Three things to know

• Tuesday's game kicks off an eight-game, three-series homestand for the Braves, who will be looking for their first win at Turner Field this season.

• Braves right fielder Nick Markakis has reached base safely in all 12 games this season.

• Adrian Gonzalez has been crushing fastballs this season. Entering the Dodgers' Sunday night game against the Giants, Gonzalez has had 10 of his 16 hits and four of his five extra-base hits off heaters.

De La Rosa, Stephenson square off in Cincinnati

Rockies left-hander Jorge De La Rosa will try to keep his roll going in a place that hasn't been kind to him, and Reds righty Robert Stephenson will make his second Major League start when the teams meet at Great American Ball Park on Tuesday in the second game of three.

De La Rosa has an 8.80 ERA in three starts, but he improved to 1-1 by striking out seven in 6 2/3 innings in his last start, a victory over the Giants in a high-scoring game at home. He gave up four runs, three earned. De La Rosa has a 7.42 career ERA in 11 games (five starts) against the Reds.

Stephenson, the Reds' No. 2 prospect according to MLBPipeline.com, was recalled from Triple-A Louisville to start in place of Alfredo Simon, who has right biceps tendinitis. Stephenson allowed four runs (three earned) in five innings on April 7 against the Phillies in his big league debut. He's made one start for Louisville this season, allowing two runs (one earned) in six innings.

Three things to know
• Catcher Devin Mesoraco, who missed time last week because of a sore quad and sat out Monday, is expected to return to the lineup Tuesday night.

• Rockies outfielder Gerardo Parra celebrated his 1,000th Major League game Monday night by making a throw from left field to rob the Reds' Jay Bruce of a possible triple.

• Why not test the best? Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado has three Rawlings Gold Glove Awards and a deserved reputation. But give Reds fleet center fielder Billy Hamilton props for challenging him with a bunt with one out in the sixth. Arenado made a barehand pickup and threw within the nick of time.

Segura, Lamb deliver as D-backs drop Giants in 11

Jean Segura's third hit, an 11th-inning chopper over the pitcher's mound, scored Phil Gosselin with the tiebreaking run on Monday night and paced the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 9-7 victory over the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.

"It was a good win," D-backs manager Chip Hale said. "The guys battled. We made some mistakes early. It was really exciting to watch those guys battle. Guys were into it in the dugout. It was a fun game."

Gosselin singled off Giants reliever Chris Heston to open the 11th and moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch. San Francisco was one out away from escaping the inning, but nobody had a play on Segura's high bouncer. Jake Lamb's double scored Segura and padded Arizona's lead.

The Giants were one strike away from sealing a last-at-bat victory after Denard Span tripled to lead off the eighth inning and scored the tiebreaking run on reliever Daniel Hudson's wild pitch. However, with two outs in the ninth, Lamb homered on a 2-2 pitch to forge a 7-7 deadlock and hand Giants closer Santiago Casilla his second blown save in five chances.

"That's a tough one, when you're a pitch away [from winning] and they tie the score," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.

• Kontos' injury compounds Giants' bullpen woes

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Lamb chops lead: Down to the D-backs' final strike, Lamb delivered a game-tying homer in the ninth and he drove in an insurance run in the 11th as part of a three-hit night. Hale moved Lamb to the two-hole Monday for the first time this season, and it paid dividends.

"I got down two strikes. I was just trying to put something in play, get something going," Lamb said of the ninth-inning homer. "I honestly thought it was a changeup because there was so much movement. I went back and [looked], it was a heater at 92. It was over the plate, and I was just trying to barrel something up and it left the park."

Start him up: The Giants entered the game batting .218 with nobody on base. This didn't matter to Joe Panik, who homered to lead off the fifth inning, when the Giants broke a 2-2 tie by scoring four runs.

Rough first: The Giants really made D-backs starter Archie Bradley work in the first, drawing three walks and collecting a single. Bradley somehow managed to get out of the inning without allowing a run, but the 35 pitches he had to throw in the frame played a big part in his not making it through five innings.

"You look most of my bad starts, it's a bad start from the beginning," Bradley said. "I think a key for me is to get going early and have success. Never could really get comfortable, never could really find it and had to battle all night."

• D-backs' win further stretches thin bullpen

Powered by Peavy: Giants starter Jake Peavy kept things lively during his five-plus innings. On the mound, he surrendered four runs but kept the Giants in the game. At the plate, Peavy was even more effective. He singled to start the Giants' two-run uprising in the second inning and drew a bases-loaded walk to force in a run during their big fifth.

"I take it serious to try to contribute on that side of the ball," Peavy said. "I understand what it's like to be out there as a pitcher, and if another pitcher can handle the bat, that's one more thing you have to worry about."

AFTER FURTHER REVIEW
It didn't take long for the game's first challenge as Segura led off the first with a grounder to second. Segura was called out at first, but the D-backs challenged the call, and it was overturned after a quick review. Segura wound up coming around to score to give Arizona a 1-0 lead.

Hale wasn't so fortunate in the seventh, when Brandon Crawford was awarded a double after he sneaked a grounder inside third base and a fan leaning over the short wall in shallow left field interfered with the play. The D-backs challenged Crawford's placement at second, believing it should have been limited to a single, but the call on the field was confirmed.

WHAT'S NEXT
D-backs: Robbie Ray will get the call when the series continues at 7:15 p.m. MST on Tuesday. The left-hander is still looking for his first win of the season despite a 2.92 ERA.

Giants: Matt Cain, who recorded his first career victory over the D-backs on Sept. 4, 2005, will go for No. 98 on Tuesday against Arizona. The right-hander owns a 14-7 record with a 3.49 ERA in 34 career outings against the National League West rivals.