NEW YORK — The Atlanta Braves have fared well against teams with winning records so far this season and this week will test their success.
The first stop for the Braves will be a visit to Yankee Stadium for the opener of a three-game interleague series with the New York Yankees on Monday night.
Atlanta (48-34) heads to New York after completing a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with a 6-5 victory on Sunday.
Mike Foltynewicz pitched five one-hit innings and the Braves improved to 30-19 against teams with winning records Authentic Mark Walton Jersey , which is the best mark in the National League. Only the Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros are performing better against winning opponents.
Atlanta begins a stretch of 16 of 18 games against teams with winning records. After visiting Yankee Stadium for the first time since June 2012, the Braves visit Milwaukee for four games next weekend and host the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 13-15.
Freddie Freeman hit a two-run homer Sunday. He is 9-for-52 (.173) in his last 12 games.
“It’s coming,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker told reporters after Freeman hit his 16th homer of the season. “Somebody’s going to pay. It’s just one of those things that everybody goes through.
“He’s working, and we still have unbelievable confidence in him and what he brings. You feel like he’s going to do something special every time he goes up there.”
The Yankees also will get their first looks at rookie outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. and second baseman Ozzie Albies.
Acuna went 4-for-13 in the weekend series after missing a month with a mild ACL sprain and contusion in his left knee and also a lower back contusion. The 20-year-old is batting .269 with six homers and 15 RBIs in his first 32 games.
Albies enters with a .275 average and on an 11-game hitting streak. During the longest streak of his career, he is batting .431 (22-for-51).
The Yankees own the best home record in the majors at 31-12 and are 26-7 in their last 33 home games. New York also has slugged 77 of its major league-leading 137 homers at home after setting a season high with six in Sunday’s 11-1 rout of the Boston Red Sox.
Aaron Hicks hit three homers and Aaron Judge belted his 22nd, rookie Gleyber Torres hit his 15th and Kyle Higashioka delivered his first as the Yankees roughed up David Price.
Anibal Sanchez, who is 3-2 with a 2.68 ERA in nine appearances (eight starts), gets the ball for the Braves. He’s hoping to avoid his third straight loss after allowing six runs and 10 hits in 9 2/3 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays and the Cincinnati Reds.
Sanchez exited his last start on Tuesday with right calf cramps after throwing a pitch to Cincinnati’s Joey Votto.
Sanchez is making his 271st career start. The first start of his career occurred June 25, 2006, at old Yankee Stadium when he allowed seven hits in 5 2/3 scoreless innings for the Miami Marlins against a lineup featuring Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi Authentic Dorance Armstrong Jr. Jersey , Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano.
Including his major league debut, Sanchez is 4-1 with a 3.79 ERA in six career starts against the Yankees. He last faced New York on Aug. 1 with the Detroit Tigers and held the Yankees to two runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings in a 4-3 win at Yankee Stadium. It also was his last win with the Tigers.
If Sanchez gives the Braves a chance for a save opportunity in the ninth inning, Arodys Vizcaino could close it out. Vizcaino was placed on the disabled list June 24 with shoulder inflammation, took a rest day Sunday after throwing a side session Saturday and could be activated for the opener.
Vizcaino last pitched June 17. Before going on the DL, he posted a 1.82 ERA, converted 15 of 17 save opportunities and struck out 33 in 29 2/3 innings in 30 appearances.
Jonathan Loaisiga will make his fourth start since being inserted into the rotation for Masahiro Tanaka (hamstrings). Loaisiga is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA in his first three starts.
Two of those starts were scoreless outings as he threw a combined 10 1/ 3 scoreless innings, allowed four hits and fanned 14 in wins over Tampa Bay on June 15 and at Philadelphia last Monday. His other start was June 20 when he allowed three runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings of a 7-5 win over the Seattle Mariners decided on a walk-off homer by Stanton.
“He was a lot more assertive, a lot more aggressive with his fastball and challenging the strike zone with it,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We saw a number of really good breaking balls. We saw some good changeups. When he got in some putaway counts, I felt like he did a better job of making it look like a strike out of the hand, which is something you’ve got to be better at here in the big leagues.”
Monday will be the 30th regular-season meeting between the teams, who met in the 1996 and 1999 World Series. The Yankees are 17-12 all-time against the Braves.
Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner knows what to expect.
Two-time All-Pro running back Le'Veon Bell is skipping training camp at St. Vincent College for the second straight season because of a contract dispute. Bell's absence last summer meant Conner saw additional snaps in camp as a rookie.
This time Tanner Lee Color Rush Jersey , he's raised expectations. He's at the top of the depth chart, at least until Bell arrives.
"Le'Veon here or not, I'm focused and trying to prove to myself that I'm in shape and I can handle playing," Conner said. "I'm focused no matter who's here or who's not here."
Bell chose to not sign his franchise tender until the eve of the 2017 season. He is expected to follow the same path this time. That's with Conner, who intends to prove he can handle the heavier workload.
"I want to show it all," Conner said. "Every time I get in, I'm going to make every rep count."
Conner, a former star at the University of Pittsburgh, showed flashes as a rookie, sporadically filling in to give Bell a breather. The Steelers' 2017 third-round pick appeared in 14 games, rushing 32 times for 144 yards, an average of 4.5 yards per carry www.billsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-taron-johnson-jersey , before a knee injury ended his season.
A leaner, trimmer Conner initially turned heads during spring workouts and that effort has carried into training camp.
Conner set the tone with a touchdown on the first competitive snap of training camp. Ben Roethlisberger delivered a quick slant to the slot where Conner hauled in the touchdown ahead of former first-round pick Artie Burns.
On Monday, Conner broke off a long touchdown run during a drill that featured live tackling. He displayed burst through the hole and into the secondary where he ran away from safety Nat Berhe en route to the end zone.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin expects that kind of development from Conner in his second season.
"We've been around the track for a lap," Tomlin said. "He understands what's going on in terms of the environment of professional football. He should utilize that experience and knowledge to produce a better, more consistent performance."
Rookie Jaylen Samuels still seeks that kind of consistency. He is taking advantage of the extra snaps to see where he fits in.
Samuels, a fifth-round pick, was a do-everything standout at North Carolina State. The 6-foot, 225-pounder stepped in at running back, fullback, wide receiver and even tight end. He ranks second in school history in total touchdowns, fourth in touchdown catches and sixth in scoring runs.
The Steelers list Samuels as a running back, but he's also being used in the slot or split out as a receiver.
"I don't want to be held to just one skill Authentic DJ Moore Jersey ," Samuels said. "I want to be able to showcase a lot of different skills. Whenever I go against different mismatches, I want it to be tough on them."
Samuels knows he needs to improve on his pass blocking.
"I didn't really do it in college as much," Samuels said. "I did a lot in practice, but not really game-time situations because I was either in the route or I was getting the ball."
Tomlin made Samuels take five consecutive, unsuccessful turns during the team's "backs on backers" drill in which a running back or tight end attempts to pick up a blitzing linebacker.
"I feel like pass blocking is probably the most that's lacking in my game right now," Samuels said. "That's the one thing I need to work on."
Samuels will have his chance for additional development at training camp with Bell away.
"It's definitely an opportunity to display my skills, and earn some respect from the players and coaches," Samuels said. "I'm excited for the opportunity that's ahead of me."
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