against Oakland on Saturday in his second career start in the

The Philadelphia Phillies are looking to awaken their slumbering offense. Atlanta Braves right-hander Joel De La Cruz is just looking for a victory.De La Cruz (0-7, 4.66 ERA) will oppose Jeremy Hellickson (10-8, 3.80 ERA) when the National League East rivals open a three-game series Friday night in Citizens Bank Park.De La Cruz, a 27-year-old rookie, signed with the Braves as a free agent in December, having previously pitched in the minors for the New York Yankees, Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers.His struggles have continued even as the National Leagues worst team has gone on a rare hot streak, winning four of five and five of seven. De La Cruz has pitched to a 6.60 ERA over his last four outings.Most recently he was tagged with a 7-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants, lasting just four innings and allowing six runs (three earned) on seven hits. He struck out two without walking a batter.De La Cruz surrendered four consecutive two-out hits in the first inning, including an RBI single by Brandon Belt and a two-run double by Joe Panik. He then yielded a two-run homer to Angel Pagan in the second, after an error by second baseman Jace Peterson.(De La Cruz) threw the ball OK, but when (your defense) makes some miscues, youve got to be able to get the next guy out, Braves manager Brian Snitker said, according to Major League Baseballs official web site. He wasnt able to do that. I think in the third inning, things were little bit better and crisper. But to assess his performance, it wasnt real good.He has faced Philadelphia three times this season, twice as a starter and once as a reliever, going 0-1 with a 3.27 ERA over 11 innings.The Phillies, who have lost five of six, are last in the major leagues with 492 runs, and their .238 team batting average is next-to-last. They are also hitting an MLB-worst .224 at home, and managed three runs on nine hits while being swept in a three-game series by the Nationals earlier this week.Nine hits in a three-game series isnt going to cut it, manager Pete Mackanin said after a 2-1 loss in Wednesdays series finale. Were just not hitting the ball. We need more offense, obviously.Hellickson leads the Phillies in victories, and 15 of his first 18 outings were quality starts. Last time out, however, Hellickson went just four innings against the New York Mets, his second-shortest appearance of the season, and allowed five runs on seven hits to absorb a 12-1 loss.Hellickson, who saw his ERA balloon from 3.60 to 3.80, gave up a two-run homer to Asdrubal Cabrera in the third, and a three-run homer to Yoenis Cespedes in the fourth.I just lost command of pretty much all three pitches tonight, Hellickson told MLB.com. I think the two home runs were probably two of the better fastballs that I threw. Its a good lineup. Its hot right now.Hellickson is 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA in two career starts against the Braves. Troy Aikman Youth Jersey . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Randy White Jersey .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. http://www.cowboysrookieproshop.com/Cowboys-Robert-Newhouse-Jersey/ . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. Tony Pollard Youth Jersey . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. Darren Woodson Youth Jersey . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. OAKLAND, Calif. -- A rare full day off turned out to be just what the Pittsburgh Pirates needed to keep Jeff Lockes winning streak going.Getting six hits and six RBI from the bottom four batters in the lineup certainly helped, too.Jody Mercer homered and had an RBI single and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied from three runs down to beat stumbling ace Sonny Gray and the Oakland Athletics 7-3 on Friday night.Matt Joyce added two hits, Josh Harrison drove in two runs while Andrew McCutcheon doubled and scored on a wild pitch to help the Pirates to their first win in their history at the Coliseum and just their second in 13 games between the two franchises.Its kind of what we saw the first two months of the season when we were connecting all dots, top to bottom in the lineup, Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. June was hard. The lineup has played much more consistent . than any other time here.The Pirates beat the As in their first meeting since 2013 by taking advantage of another shaky outing by Gray (3-7).He gave up seven runs, hit a batter and threw two wild pitches in six innings while losing his sixth consecutive decision. The right-hander, third in the 2015 AL Cy Young voting, is winless since April 22.Marcus Semien hit his 17th home run of the season for Oakland.Hell figure it out and hell get better as the year goes on, As manager Bob Melvin said. Theres always going to be a year thats not as good as others. So fa this is the one for him.Pittsburghs 5-6-7 hitters combined for six hits, five RBI and four runs scored. Chris Stewart, the No. 9 hitter, drove in the go-ahead run with a fielders choice grounder in the fifth.Thats what makes our team us, Harrison said. It can be anybody, and thats what we have to get back to.Mercer homered in the third and added an RBI single as part of a two-run fifth.Harrisons two-out, two-run double in the sixth put the Pirates up 7-3.LOCKED INPirates starter Jeff Locke (8-5) also struggled early but retired the final nine batters he faced to win his third sstraight.dddddddddddd He gave up three runs over five innings with three walks and three strikeouts. Three relievers combined to retire the final 12 batters and complete the four-hitter. It was a strong finish, Hurdle said. His fastball wasnt of the quality that we had seen the last two times out . but he stayed in the hunt, made pitches, battled and finished very strong. Thats a sign of maturity.LINEUP SHUFFLEJed Lowrie had decent results while batting leadoff for the first time this season. He drew a walk from Locke in the first before Semien homered on a 3-2 pitch. Oaklands second baseman added an RBI double in the second to make it 3-0.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: Ryan Vogelsong faced hitters while throwing off the mound in the latest step of his recovery after getting hit in the face with a pitch on May 23. Vogelsong, who underwent surgery on June 2 to repair the multiple fractures he suffered, remains on the 60-day disabled list and isnt eligible to return until July 23. . Right-hander Gerrit Cole (triceps strain) also pitched a simulated game prior to the series opener with Oakland. The Pirates are encouraged but havent determined what the next step is. . Francisco Cervelli (broken hamate in left hand) continues to make progress and could catch the next round of sim games for Vogelsgong and Cole.Athletics: Infielder Tyler Ladendorf was recalled from Triple-A Nashville before the game. Left-hander Dillion Overton, the losing pitcher against San Francisco on Thursday, was optioned down. Overton went 1-1 with an 11.42 ERA in two starts.UP NEXTPirates: Right-hander Chad Kuhl (1-0) pitches against Oakland on Saturday in his second career start in the majors after beating Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers in his debut.Athletics: Rich Hill is expected to come off the disabled list to start against Pittsburgh. The left-hander had been out since May