Series Preview: Soler Returns to the Bay As Braves Face Giants

Jorge Soler will be giving the Atlanta Braves (61-56) a good scouting report of the San Francisco Giants (61-59) for their four-game series in Oracle Park beginning late Monday night.

It wasn't until the night of July 30 that Soler and Luke Jackson returned to Atlanta in a trade with the Giants. Now, they're reuniting with the team they began the year with while in the midst of completely different stretches.

On the bright side, Soler has homered in three consecutive games, including two on Sunday versus the Colorado Rockies. However, Atlanta choked a six-run lead in the eighth inning of yesterday's game, and Jackson played a lead role in that – the reliever allowed four runs on four hits in 0.2 of an inning before Joe Jiménez took over and allowed three more to squander the lead for good.

In a series in which Atlanta scored 24 runs on 36 hits versus the National League's bottom feeder, dropping two of three leaves them scratching their heads. The Braves have lost seven of their last eight, including five games versus the Miami Marlins and the Rockies – the NL's two worst teams (44-75). They're 7.5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East and just half a game up on the St. Louis Cardinals for the bottom Wild Card spot.

Oppositely, the Giants are 7-3 in their last 10 in their quest to make up lost ground. They sit just 1.5 games below the Braves in the NL, but they'll look to take care of that deficit in four contests versus the scuffling Braves this week.

Pitching matchups

-Monday: LHP Chris Sale (13-3, 2.75) vs. LHP Blake Snell (2-3, 4.31)

Game one features an exciting matchup between two Cy Young-caliber lefties.

Snell is the reigning NL Cy Young winner with the San Diego Padres, and while he's not matched his 2023 form this season, the strikeout-first lefty tossed a no-hitter versus the Cincinnati Reds just two starts ago. On the topic of strikeout-first lefties, Sale ranks sixth in the league with 165 Ks and is tied for the MLB lead with 13 wins.

-Tuesday: RHP Charlie Morton (6-7, 4.47) vs. LHP Kyle Harrison (6-5, 4.08)

In game two, we have a 40-year-old veteran versus a 23-year-old in his first full big-league campaign.

For the Braves, "Uncle Charlie" is in the midst of an inconsistent spell in what could be his farewell tour – he's been at his worst on the road, as he's 2-3 with a 5.14 ERA away from Truist Park. On the Giants side, Harrison has flashed top-notch swing-and-miss stuff in 20 starts this season, although he's only punched out seven while allowing eight runs in 8.1 innings between two starts in August.

-Wednesday: RHP Grant Holmes (0-0, 3.79) vs. LHP Robbie Ray (2-1, 3.98)

In game three, Holmes is still looking for his first big-league win going into his fourth MLB start. Holmes will start on normal rest, because like Braves manager Brian Snitker said, the club is simply "out of options" – at least until Reynaldo López returns from the injured list.

For the Giants, Ray is making his fifth start of the season after missing the first half of the season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. His stability in the rotation is key in San Francisco mounting a late-season resurrection. He's been solid so far, turning in a six-inning, two-run outing on Friday in a win over the Detroit Tigers.

-Thursday: LHP Max Fried (7-6, 3.56) vs. RHP Logan Webb (10-8, 3.32)

The series wraps up with a matchup of "Mr. Reliables." Fried has been a top-end starter for the entirety of his eight-year career with the Braves, while Webb has done the same during his six-year career with the Giants.

Both guys thrive when they are getting soft contact and going deep in games. Fried will be trying to get back to attacking the zone, as he's walked eight between his last two starts in a combined 8.1 IP, uncharacteristically. Meanwhile, Webb has been healthier and is looking to build off seven innings of one-run ball on Saturday versus Detroit.

Keys to victory; Players to watch

At this point, the Braves must sync up good pitching with good hitting.

With 11 homers and 24 runs in Colorado, there's a lot to build off of at the plate. The Giants pitching staff (21st in ERA) is a little tougher than the lowly Rockies (30th in ERA), but facing lefties in three of four games will help. The Braves hit left-handers for a .255 average with a .756 OPS in nearly 2,000 fewer at bats than against right-handers, which they hit for a .237 average and .709 OPS.

Meanwhile, San Francisco ranks 14th in OPS (a spot below Atlanta), 15th in batting average and 20th in homers. The Braves will have to attack the zone, as the Giants rank seventh in walks as a team, but at least they don't have to worry much when they're on the base paths – they rank lower than only the Braves with 46 stolen bases.

With Soler now out of the Giants' lineup and instead a threat against them, San Francisco's biggest hitter is Matt Chapman. The third baseman leads the team with a .249 batting average, 19 homers and .338 OBP. On the other end, the Giants will have to watch out for Soler, Matt Olson and Marcell Ozuna, who each hammered multiple dingers at Coors Field over the weekend.

Broadcast Info

Braves fans, get the coffee pot brewing. First pitch for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday is set for 9:45 p.m. EST. The series wraps up with a 3:45 p.m. first pitch on Thursday.

The Braves broadcast will be on Bally Sports Southeast, while the Giants’ is on NBC Sports Bay Area . Braves fans can also listen to the game by tuning in to the Atlanta Braves Radio Network on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan and affiliates across Braves Country.