Chipper Jones returns for his swan song season, and it couldn’t be at a better time.
The Atlanta Braves are on a mini-streak, winning their last two games and return to Turner Field for their home opener against the Milwaukee Brewers. A season that started with four straight losses seems to be taking a turn after the Braves took the last two against the Houston Astros.
“Road trips get longer and longer,” Jones told the Associated Press. “Especially when you lose the first four, you miss home at lot. It will be good to get back to Atlanta and play in front of the home fans, who we haven’t seen in a long time. The home opener is always a special occasion no matter when it comes.”
Jones actually played in the finale against Houston and homered, and now returns for the final home opener of his career.
“I don’t come to the ballpark thinking about all that stuff,” Jones told the AP. “My job is to go out in the middle of the lineup and play third base for the Atlanta Braves. That’s how I keep it simple, and I don’t really pay attention to much of the outside stuff. I think I probably won’t start paying attention to a lot of that stuff until later on in the year, August and September when it’s coming down to the wire and I know I only have a limited number of games left.”
A good way to cover up the memories of the last time Atlanta played at home, when the team capped its historic collapse with a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on the season’s final day.
The Braves won the series against the Astros, and are expected to take this one against the Brewers, according to Bovada’s MLB Team Props page with -155 odds.
Jair Jurrjens will start against Milwaukee’s Randy Wolf. The Brewers’ pitching 
staff has managed to hold the team together after losing slugger Prince Fielder due to free agency. Milwaukee has won four of its last five.
“When you have pitching, you don’t have to score a lot of runs,” manager Ron Roenicke told the AP. “With all our starting pitching, when a guy needs a day off, I feel really confident in whoever we put in is going to do enough to give us a few runs and with that great pitching we should come out ahead.”
Bovada expects the Braves to come out ahead on Friday, favoring them by 1 1/2 runs with a -130 moneyline.