(Best E Casino) - The Oakland Athletics try to halt a four-game slide tonight as they continue their three-game interleague series with the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field.

The A's, now an even 11-11 on the road in 2008 following their 3-2 setback in the series opener on Friday night, have fallen in six of the last seven outings overall, dropping the squad 1 1/2 games behind the LA Angels for first place in the American League West.

Last night Ryan Sweeney and Donnie Murphy each scored for the A's during the second inning, but that was the extent of the offense for the team in the losing effort. Starting pitcher Dana Eveland permitted a pair of runs over 5 2/3 innings, but it was Alan Embree who surrendered the decisive score in the bottom of the eighth when Mark Kotsay's double plated Chipper Jones.

As for the Braves, a team that is just a game over .500 on the season even though it has won 15 of 19 at home, they were paced by Brian McCann and his three hits, two of which were doubles. Starter Jair Jurrjens made it through five innings, permitting two runs on eight hits, with Manny Acosta picking up the victory as he gave up just a single hit in the final two innings of the contest.

Getting his first-ever start against his former team, Tim Hudson takes the mound for the Braves versus Oakland tonight. Hudson, who has a career record of 141-72, did much of that damage with the A's when he played in the Bay Area during the first six years of his career.

So far this season the right-hander, who has suffered double-digit losses each of the last two seasons, has produced six wins in eight decisions. On Monday Hudson allowed just a single unearned run while striking out five over seven innings in the 8-1 victory versus Pittsburgh on the road.

Hudson has won three straight outings since lasting only three innings in a 4-3 loss to the Mets in his final start of April.

As for the A's, they're going with Rich Harden for the second time since activating him off the 15-day DL. On Sunday the six-year veteran allowed a four-run first-inning lead to slip away from Oakland, giving up five runs on eight hits over the course of a mere 3 2/3 innings. Haren struck out five, but also walked four batters and was charged with a wild pitch.

A teammate of Hudson's in both 2003 and 2004, Harden is making his first-ever appearance versus Atlanta this evening.

The Oakland pitching staff is currently second in the AL with a team ERA of just 3.32, although the squad's collective batting average has them 10th in the league at just .251. The A's are first in the AL with 10 triples, but second-to-last with a mere 22 home runs over the course of 42 outings.

Atlanta pitchers sport the best ERA in the NL entering the weekend at just 3.56, with opponents batting a mere .239 against them. From an offensive standpoint, the Braves are second in the league in hitting with a .281 mark, thanks in large part to Jones who leads the majors with an amazing .423 average at this point in the campaign.

The Athletics are 113-82 all-time against the National League, while Atlanta is now 96-86 versus clubs from the AL.