(Photo credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images)

The Atlanta Braves own the majors' best record, batting average and ERA in the middle of May and are playing as confidently as they have since their 104-win season in 2023.

The Boston Red Sox, however, are struggling entering the teams' three-game set in Atlanta beginning Friday night.

Atlanta, which is batting .270 and boasts a 3.02 ERA this season, has won four of its last five games. More than a quarter of a way through the regular season, the Braves have lost just one series.

The club is getting healthier, too.

Right-hander Spencer Strider (1-0, 2.89 ERA) will make his third start since coming off the injured list on May 3. The 2023 All-Star spent the first month of the this season out with an oblique strain but was excellent Saturday in his most recent outing, allowing just one hit across six scoreless innings and striking out eight in a 7-2 road victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

'Spencer looked like himself again,' Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said. 'That's as good as I've seen Spencer in a while. That's really encouraging, a great sign for us to see him throw the ball like that.'

After Strider's 20-win campaign in 2023, he made just two starts in 2024 before undergoing season-ending surgery to repair damage to his UCL. He then went 7-14 with a 4.45 ERA last year.

Weiss said he believes the hardships of the last two years helped develop Strider's pitching arsenal.

'I wouldn't say he's reinvented himself, but I think his secondary stuff got better last year,' Weiss said. 'He had to lean on it when the fastball wasn't quite the same. It's the silver lining. I think in the end, he's going to have more weapons.'

Strider, 27, has faced the Red Sox just once, allowing three runs (two earned) across 6 1/3 innings in a no-decision on July 26, 2023. The Braves lost 5-3.

Boston enters this weekend's interleague set having dropped three of its last four games and is averaging just 1.5 runs per game across that span.

Wilyer Abreu went 6-for-12 in the most recent series, against the Philadelphia Phillies, increasing his batting average to .310.

'It's hard, of course, but I still think we're playing good baseball,' Abreu said. 'We're playing really good defense, we're having good at bats. We've been through this all season, but we're still waiting for that moment, that big hit. We're creating opportunities, but at the same time, we need to accomplish driving in runs.'

Connelly Early (3-2, 3.16 ERA) enters the series opener following the best start of his young career. The 24-year-old left-hander scattered four hits over seven scoreless innings last Friday, striking out eight and walking just one in a 2-0 win against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Since debuting in September, Early has a 2.90 ERA in 12 career starts.

'He's controlling counts, getting ahead of guys,' Boston interim manager Chad Tracy said. 'He actually leaves some in the tank and starts to get stronger as the game goes on. You're seeing him throw 92, 93 (miles per hour) and then you get to the end and you're seeing 96s.'

The 2023 fifth-round draft pick will face the Braves for the first time on Friday.

--Field Level Media