Major League Baseball

Rangers-Braves Preview

Published Jun. 19, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

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The Atlanta Braves are used to being able to count on Jair Jurrjens for dominant starting pitching, so they're hoping the right-hander's latest start was nothing more than an aberration.

They'd like to believe the same about their own recent struggles.

The Braves look to Jurrjens to bounce back Sunday afternoon and help them avoid a three-game sweep - and a sixth loss in seven games overall - in the finale of a series with the visiting Texas Rangers.

Jurrjens (8-3, 2.13 ERA) owns the NL's best ERA, but after never once allowing more than two earned runs in his first nine starts, he's given up at least three in two of his past three outings.

His shortest start of the season came Tuesday against the New York Mets. Jurrjens gave up four runs, eight hits and five walks over 5 1-3 innings of a 4-3 loss.

"For his standards, it wasn't your normal, typical JJ outing, but he kept us right there," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "We had some opportunities and we didn't take advantage of it."

Gonzalez could say the same about an Atlanta offense that's been held to six hits or fewer in six of its last seven games. After managing two solo homers and five hits in Friday's 6-2 loss to Texas, the Braves (39-33) mustered four hits - three doubles and a homer - as the Rangers won Saturday's rain-delayed contest 5-4 in 10 innings.

In the field, the Braves committed three errors for the second straight game, leading to an unearned run.

"It's too many,'' catcher Brian McCann said. "We've got to shore up our D, for sure.''

It's still unclear when Chipper Jones will return to the lineup after straining his right groin Thursday night against the Mets, but Nate McLouth should return Sunday after missing the past four weeks with a strained left oblique.

McLouth, who was in an 8-for-56 slump before going on the disabled list, will play left field for now while Jordan Schafer stays in center.

Jurrjens hasn't faced the Rangers (38-34) with Atlanta, but started once against them in his rookie season with Detroit. The right-hander held Texas to one run and three hits over five innings of a 4-1 win Sept. 11, 2007.

While Jurrjens looks to rebound from a so-so outing, Alexi Ogando (7-1, 2.71) will try to recover from the worst start of his career. The right-hander had given up just one run in five of his previous seven outings heading into Tuesday's game in the Bronx, but he surrendered six runs over 1 2-3 innings in a 12-4 loss to the Yankees.

"There's no perfection in baseball, and his perfection is over," manager Ron Washington told the Rangers' official website after Ogando's seven-game winning streak was snapped. "He'll keep on doing what he's doing. I don't think this will affect Ogando at all."

Texas center fielder Josh Hamilton will try to start a new streak of his own. His 24-game interleague hitting streak was ended Saturday, though he's still hitting .469 in the regular season against the NL since the start of 2010.

Facing either league has been troubling lately for Jason Heyward. Atlanta's right fielder, who came off the DL earlier this week, is batting .125 since May 1, and .161 with 20 strikeouts in 62 career interleague at-bats.

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