Archer expected to start for Pittsburgh against Atlanta

Atlanta Braves (33-28, second in the NL East) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (29-31, fourth in the NL Central)

Pittsburgh; Thursday, 12 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Braves: Mike Foltynewicz (1-4, 6.10 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 32 strikeouts) Pirates: Chris Archer (2-5, 5.66 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 47 strikeouts)

LINE: Braves favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Pittsburgh and Atlanta will face off at PNC Park Thursday.

The Pirates are 12-18 on their home turf. The Pittsburgh pitching staff as a whole has an ERA of 5.03. Jordan Lyles leads the team with a 3.38 ERA.

The Braves are 17-13 on the road. Atlanta ranks eighth in the MLB in hitting with a .258 batting average, Freddie Freeman leads the club with an average of .306. The Pirates won the last meeting 7-4. Joe Musgrove earned his fourth victory and Colin Moran went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and an RBI for Pittsburgh. Kevin Gausman registered his fifth loss for Atlanta.

TOP PERFORMERS: Josh Bell leads the Pirates with 18 home runs and has 54 RBIs. Moran is 11-for-36 with two doubles, three home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.

Freeman leads the Braves with 15 home runs home runs and is slugging .570. Dansby Swanson has 14 hits and is batting .000 over the last 10 games for Atlanta.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 4-6, .307 batting average, 6.85 ERA, outscored by 13 runs

Braves: 5-5, .250 batting average, 5.06 ERA, outscored by four runs

Pirates Injuries: Trevor Williams: 10-day IL (side), Jameson Taillon: 60-day IL (elbow), Chris Stratton: 10-day IL (side), Edgar Santana: 60-day IL (elbow), Chad Kuhl: 60-day IL (elbow), Keone Kela: 10-day IL (shoulder), Nick Burdi: 60-day IL (biceps), Corey Dickerson: 60-day IL (shoulder), Lonnie Chisenhall: 60-day IL (finger), Jung Ho Kang: 10-day IL (side), Erik Gonzalez: 60-day IL (collarbone), Francisco Cervelli: 10-day IL (concussion).