Padres at Braves
The Atlanta Braves welcomed a number of franchise greats back for the opening of the new SunTrust Field on Friday, and Ender Inciarte made sure the good vibe felt by those in attendance didn't go away after the pregame ceremony. The Braves have won consecutive contests after opening the season 1-6, and they'll look to capture their third in a row Saturday as they continue a four-game series against the San Diego Padres.
Hank Aaron, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Phil Niekro, Bobby Cox, Chipper Jones and Dale Murphy all were in attendance Friday as Atlanta unveiled the retired numbers of 10 of the team's all-time best prior to officially opening its new home after playing 20 years at Turner Field. The Braves wasted little time christening the venue as Inciarte notched the first hit and scored the first run in the stadium's history in the opening frame before capping Atlanta's 5-2 victory with a two-run shot in the sixth inning for his third homer in two games. The Padres fell to 2-2 on their seven-game road trip after taking two of three in Colorado, but they were unable to muster much offense Friday and are averaging 3.4 runs through 11 contests. Manuel Margot has done his part to spark the offense atop the order, however, as the rookie is riding a seven-game hitting streak, has scored eight runs (second on the club) and is tied with Wil Myers for the team lead with three home runs.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FS1, FSN San Diego
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres LH Clayton Richard (1-1, 2.57 ERA) vs. Braves RH R.A. Dickey (0-1, 4.76)
Richard surrendered two third-inning home runs en route to Sunday's loss to San Francisco, giving up five runs - four earned - on five hits and three walks in six innings. The Michigan product has forced a National League-high 22 groundouts versus only four flyouts in 2017 after leading the majors in ground-ball rate (63.9 percent) over the second half of last season. Richard worked a scoreless inning of relief versus the Braves last year but is 0-5 with a 6.91 ERA in eight career appearances (five starts) against them.
Dickey paid the price for some defensive lapses (two errors) and three passed balls by catcher Kurt Suzuki in last Saturday's loss at Pittsburgh, ultimately getting charged with six runs - three earned - on nine hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings. It was the veteran knuckleballer's first start for the Braves after going 49-52 with a 4.05 ERA in four seasons with Toronto. Dickey has befuddled Myers (2-for-18, seven strikeouts) and Erick Aybar (4-for-18) - by far the two Padres he has faced the most in his 15-year career.
WALK-OFFS
1. Inciarte's three homers in his last seven at-bats matches his total in 522 at-bats last season.
2. The Padres activated C Hector Sanchez from the seven-day concussion disabled list and recalled RHP Kevin Quackenbush from Triple-A El Paso on Friday.
3. The Braves have won four in a row against San Diego at home and five straight meetings overall.