Chris Sale tries to help bring out the brooms for Braves against Cubs

The Braves aim to continue a successful road trip by winning a three-game set against the Cubs at Dodger Stadium, targeting a series sweep of the NL Central leaders. Atlanta’s pitching has limited Chicago to three runs on five hits through the first two games, supported by strong defense. The Cubs entered the series struggling after being shut out in their final two games at Texas. Chris Sale is scheduled to pitch, and he has generally been steady aside from a rough start against the Angels. In his most recent outing versus the Dodgers, he allowed three runs, including two earned, while keeping the Braves competitive. The Cubs have still shown some effectiveness against left-handed pitching this season.

"The pitching has been a big reason behind Atlanta's success in this series so far (and the season as a whole), as the raves have only given up three runs on five hits through both games so far. The Cubs came into this series slumping after having been shut out during their final two games at Texas and the Braves have done a good job of extending that misery with their efforts on the mound and their defensive quality as well."

"It only figures to get better for the Braves coming into this game, as it's Chris Sale's turn in the rotation. Outside of a rough outing in Anaheim against the Angels last month, Sale has ben pretty consistent and a very steady figure in the rotation so far - which is exactly what you'd expect from the future Hall-of-Famer."

"Sale's last outing saw him perform well enough to keep the Braves competitive against the Dodgers but ultimately, the three runs (two eanred) that he conceded were enough for the Dodgers to eke out a win. Still, those two earned runs were the most that Sale had given up in any outing outside of the one against the Angels - all of the others saw him give up at least one run or fewer while going at least six innings as well."

"While this does seem like an ideal situation for Sale and the Braves to thrive in considering how anemic the Cubs lineup has been in recent days, one thing to keep an eye on is that the Cubs have done pretty well against left-handed pitching so far this season. As a team, they're hitting .267/.364/.425 against lefties wi"

Read at Battery Power