Well, I said on Thursday I didn’t like the match-up for Friday, and that held true.  Jurrjens pitched pretty well, and the Braves certainly had chances versus Maholm but just couldn’t convert.  We’re in a part of the schedule right now that the Braves really need to take advantage of, so let’s see how we mach-up today:

Saturday Expected:  Jo-Jo Reyes (0-0) v. Ian Snell (0-2)

Projected Line-up Career v. Snell:

Johnson, 2B – 3/12, 2 BB’s, 4 K’s, 1 RBI

Infante, SS – No AB’s

Anderson, LF – No AB’s

McCann, C – 9/14, 3 HR’s, 7 RBI’s, 1 BB

Francoeur, RF – 3/17, 1 RBI, 8 K’s

Kotchman, 1B – No AB’s

Prado, 3B – 0/4

Schaffer – No AB’s

Clearly, the guy that sticks out like a sore thumb (I’m looking at you Chipper!) is Brian McCann.  Without Chipper in the line-up though, it’s debatable how much of a shot the Pirates will give to McCann to be the one that hurts Snell.  It would not be unexpected for the Pirates to more or less pitch around McCann all day and force someone else to step up. Snell had a horrible first outing of the year against the Cards going just 4 and giving up 8 runs (6 earned).  He rebounded nicely in his next start against Cincinnati going 6, giving up just 2 runs and striking out 7.  Snell for his career is 1-2 against Atlanta with a 4.31 ERA.  He had a miserable year last year, though he did post his best numbers in September: 2-2, 3.67 ERA, 25K’s/27 IP.

Pirates Proejcted Career v. Reyes:

Morgan, LF – No AB’s

Wilson, SS – No AB’s

Sanchez, 2B  – No AB’s

Doumit, C – No AB’s

McClouth, CF – No AB’s

LaRoche, 1B – No AB’s

Monroe, RF – No AB’s

Vazquez, 3B – No AB’s

With no experience versus Reyes, let’s see what we might be able to infer about the start.  The Pirates are batting a collective .220 against lefties this year with just 1 homerun and 29 strikeouts in 59 at bats. This isn’t terribly surprising seeing as Doumit is the only source of right-handed power in the entire line-up.  In 2008, only 2 N.L. teams hit fewer homeruns against lefties and only 3 teams had a lower BA.  When Reyes was called up for his first start last year he went 5.1 innings, giving up just 1 run on 4 hits, striking out 5.  If we got that out of him, everyone in Braves camp would be excited.

Prediction for the Game:  Braves: 6, Pirates: 2.  I’m not a huge believer in Jo-Jo Reyes, but I think this match-up is perfect for him to at least try to get some momentum going in 2009.  No one doubts Snell’s talent, but that has not coverted to on-field success.  I’d look for the Brraves to put up at least 3 runs in the first 3 innings, and though I don’t see Reyes going past 6 innings, I think he’ll pitch good enough to get a win.