With their 5-3 loss to the Washington Nationals, the Atlanta Braves lost their second consecutive series, and both of 
them were to teams within the division narrowing the gap of their lead.
While the Braves are struggling, the Phillies continue to gain ground and sit just 2.5 games back. The Phillies also just acquired Houston Astros ace Roy Oswalt to become their second starter.
With the July 31st trade deadline approaching, the Braves are in an interesting position. They already made one deal acquiring Alex Gonzalez but could make another to fill the centerfield hole that Nate McLouth has created.
According to Baseball America, the Braves have 5 of the best 50 prospects in baseball (Teheran, Freeman, Delgado, Minor and Vizcaino) so they have plenty of pieces to trade with should they look outside the organization.
At this point, it may be time to let Gregor Blanco and Melky Cabrera play.
Projected Pitching Matchups: Atlanta Braves @ Cincinnati Reds
7/30: Kris Medlen (6-2, 3.57) @ Johnny Cueto (10-2, 3.18)
7/31: Jair Jurrjens (3-3, 4.37) @ Bronson Arroyo (10-6, 4.21)
8/1: Tommy Hanson (8-7, 3.99) @ Edinson Volquez (1-1, 8.25)
Series Outlook
Kris Medlen has been about as good as anyone could have hoped from the sixth starter but Johnny Cueto has been fantastic this year, and the Reds have a definite advantage in game one.
Jurrjens has been terrific since returning from the DL but the Braves should be able to get to Arroyo in game two to even the series.
Hanson was ok in his last outing against the Nationals. Volquez has really struggled lately (although his first start after returning was good) and the Braves might be able to sneak away with a victory in game three of the series.
Used with permission of the author.
Along with contributing to Sports Climax, Brett Kettyle is the Atlanta Braves Community Leader on Bleacher Report and maintains a Braves column for MTR Media. Follow Brett on Twitter.
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