(Sports Network) - Sporting the best home mark in the majors, the Atlanta Braves continue their three-game interleague set today by hosting the Detroit Tigers at Turner Field.
On Friday, Brian McCann and Brooks Conrad both homered to help the Atlanta Braves edge the Detroit Tigers, 3-1, in the series opener at Turner Field.
Melky Cabrera knocked in the other run for the Braves, who have won 15 of their last 16 games at Turner Field to improve to a Major League-best 25-7 at home.
Kris Medlen (5-1) gave up a run in the opening frame, but held Detroit off the scoreboard for the remainder of his outing. The right-hander allowed six hits through 6 2/3 innings.
Billy Wagner struck out the side in the ninth to earn his 400th career save.
"A lot of the credit goes to my teammates for helping me reach (the milestone)," Wagner said.
Miguel Cabrera had two hits for Detroit, which has fallen in 11 of its last 15 outings on the road.
Detroit starter Andrew Oliver (0-1) absorbed the loss in his major league debut, yielding two runs on five hits over six innings.
"It was exciting. It was a lot different than I expected because I thought I was going to be a little more nervous when the game started," Oliver said.
Taking the hill for the Tigers today will be Max Scherzer, who is searching for his third consecutive win. The hard-throwing right-hander was terrific in his most recent outing, allowing one run and four hits over seven innings of a 3-1 win over Arizona on Sunday. He also struck out eight in beating his former team.
Scherzer has made five appearances -- three starts -- in his career against the Braves, going 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA. He has dropped his last two starts versus Atlanta though, posting an 11.42 ERA during that span.
Kenshin Kawakami will get the call for the Braves today and he is looking to snap a lengthy losing streak. Since beating Florida on Aug. 31, Kawakami has gone 0-11 with a 4.45 ERA in 21 games -- 14 starts -- for Atlanta.
The right-hander, whose 0-9 start this season is a franchise record for a starter, is coming off his shortest outing of the season against Kansas City on Sunday. In that game, he allowed five runs -- four earned -- and six hits over just two innings of work. The Braves though, rallied for the 8-5 win, taking him off the hook.
Kawakami has never faced the Tigers previously.
Detroit swept the Braves when these teams last met back in 2007 and has won five of six in the series.