Oakland Athletics (23-35, fourth in the AL West) vs. Atlanta Braves (31-23, second in the NL East)
Atlanta; Friday, 7:20 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: JP Sears (4-3, 3.88 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 40 strikeouts); Braves: Reynaldo Lopez (2-2, 1.75 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 47 strikeouts)
: LINE Braves -222, Athletics +185; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Atlanta Braves host the Oakland Athletics on Friday to begin a three-game series.
Atlanta has a 31-23 record overall and a 17-11 record in home games. Braves pitchers have a collective 3.