Well, it appears the only way for the Braves to beat the Padres is to throw Kris Medlen at them. That was the case this weekend as Medlen won Atlanta's only game of a three-game series with the Padres.
GOOD
Kris Medlen: he won his fourth straight start and has been rolling. Only once in his last six starts has Medlen allowed more than two runs and has a 0.98 ERA in his last four overall. This was his third career start against the Padres and has yet to allow a run in 24.1 innings as a starter.
Craig Kimbrel: He earned his 47th save of the season on Tuesday, setting a new career high and has converted 37 straight opportunities
Justin Upton and Freddie Freeman: Justin was 5-16 and Freddie was 6-10 with his 21st home run of the year; Freddie also has a seven-game hitting streak. They were the only bright spots in an offense that has lately been little more than anemic.
David Hale: In his MLB debut, Hale struck out nine Padres in five innings on Friday, setting a new team record for strikeouts in a debut. It's a shame he was denied a win.
BAD
Everyone on offense not named Justin Upton or Freddie Freeman: This especially goes for Jordan Schafer, who was 0-6 with four strikeouts and has just one hit in his last 20 at-bats with eight strikeouts; that equals a batting average of .050. The offense as a whole has scored exactly three runs per game the last 10 games during which the team is hitting .196 with 89 strikeouts.
UGLY
Seventh and eighth innings on Monday: The sequence played out like a bad dream when Fredi Gonzalez ran through three different relievers in the seventh inning, but not before San Diego scored twice. Then in the eighth, Chase Headley homered to tie the game. Headley homered in each game of the series and four of his 13 homers have come at Atlanta's expense.
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The Braves head to Washington next and could wrap up the division by winning two from the Nats.