Braves @ Dodgers: Atlanta Braves' Biggest Series of theYear

Well this long season potentially comes down to this weekend. The Braves open a four game series in Los Angeles beginning tonight.

Last weekend the Dodgers came to Atlanta and quickly dispensed the Braves two out of three games.

Atlanta is hitting well going into a tough stretch of games. These next four games could once again tell the tale of Atlanta in '09. With the Marlins recent swoon, including a loss today in a game they led 6-0 after two innings, the Braves have a great opportunity to make some noise.

Randy Wolf takes the hill versus former Dodger Derek Lowe in tonight's tilt. The Braves love to face Wolf. The left-hander is 4-12 with a 5.33 ERA in 24 starts against the Braves. Lowe meanwhile is returning to L.A. for the first time since leaving the Dodgers this past Winter.

On Friday, the Braves will send Jair Jurrjens to the mound against Chad Billingsley in a rematch of Sunday Night Baseball from this past week. Jurrjens got knocked around in one inning and I'm sure some revenge is on his mind. The Braves hitters will have to figure Billingsley out after the rightie threw 5+ innings of shutout ball in Atlanta less than one week ago.

Saturday night's matchup looks like it will be Kenshin Kawakami vs. Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw is in the top 10 in NL Era with a 2.89 mark. Kawakami is good when his command is on.

Finally, Sunday afternoon's affair will feature Hiroki Kuroda vs. Braves-ace Javier Vazquez. Kuroda has a 1.20 ERA against Atlanta in 15 innings pitched against them. And of course we all remember the near-no-no he threw against the Braves in L.A. last season.

Over the past two games in San Diego the Braves have combined for 31 hits and 15 runs scored. Nate McLouth has woken up his bat, as has Chipper Jones. The hottest Brave right now though has to be Adam LaRoche. Since rejoining the Braves via trade last Friday, LaRoche has gone 10-for-18, with one homerun, a double, and two RBI's. In the process his average has gone from .248 to .260.

So once again, opportunity knocks for the Atlanta Braves. It's time for the Braves to make another good run to get within two or three games of the Wild Card. The NL East race is not over yet either.

I know the Phillies traded for Cliff Lee and have been playing well, but they come to Atlanta, where they have not won a game in '09, next weekend. Make some noise against the Dodgers, and we Braves fans could find our team in the thick of the playoff race down the stretch.

Writers note: I have recently accepted a Bleacher Report promotion to Featured Columnist for Tennessee Vols football. As a result of my increased responsibilities to write for the Vols, my Braves writing will have to take a backseat for a while. I will still write Braves articles, just not as many as I have in the past.

Thanks to all of my loyal readers who have read everything I have written (sometimes three articles in a day) over the last few months. I still plan on at least one Braves article per week, and of course I will still be watching every inning of every game.

Till next time...