(Best E Casino) - Now just a half-game behind the LA Angels for first place in the American League West, the Oakland Athletics wrap up their three-game interleague set with the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field this afternoon.

On Saturday the A's sized up one of their former staff aces in Tim Hudson and sent him to his third loss of the season in a 5-4 decision. Hudson made it through just five innings, giving up five runs on five hits and an uncharacteristic five walks.

Mark Teixeira finished up 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Yunel Escobar knocked in a run for Atlanta, which has alternated wins and losses for the past seven games. The inconsistency of the Braves now has them sitting in fourth place in the National League East, yet just three games out of first.

Ryan Sweeney connected on a three-run homer for the visitors while Jack Cust drilled a solo home run and Daric Barton scored, plated a run and walked three times to held snap a four-game slide by Oakland.

In only his second start since coming off the disabled list, Rich Harden surrendered a lone run on four hits while striking out eight through seven innings, stealing the spotlight from Hudson, a former teammate in the Bay Area.

Getting the call to the hill for the A's in the series finale is Justin Duchscherer. The right-hander, who lost his only previous decision against Atlanta during what has been a seven-year career in the American League, had another strong outing on Tuesday against Cleveland on the road, yet still suffered the loss.

Versus the Tribe, Duchscherer allowed just a single run on four hits and struck out six over 6 2/3 innings, but without any offensive support he and the A's eventually bowed in a 4-0 decision.

As for the Braves, they will try their luck with Jo-Jo Reyes. The lefty, who is getting his first look at Oakland in his brief career, has only been up with Atlanta since the beginning of the month and has a record of 1-1 to show for his efforts.

On Tuesday Reyes bounced back from a shortened appearance five days earlier because of a blister by giving up five runs on 11 hits over 6 2/3 innings. The California native also fanned five without issuing a single walk, yet he was still charged with the loss in the 5-4 setback to Philadelphia on the road.

Although he was held hitless on Saturday and fanned twice in four at-bats, Chipper Jones continues to lead the league in batting for the Braves at a .412 clip. Because of the effort of Jones, the team as a whole is second in the NL in batting at .279.

From a pitching perspective, Atlanta's staff is first in the league with a collective 3.60 ERA and is second in terms of opponent batting average at .238 as well.

Not to be outdone, the Oakland hurlers are second in the AL at the moment with a 3.34 ERA and also second with an opponent batting average of .240 as well. However, from an offensive standpoint, the A's are near the bottom of the league in hitting at just .250 and are dead last in terms of slugging percentage (.356) thanks to just 24 home runs.

The Athletics are 114-82 all-time against the National League, while Atlanta is now 96-87 versus clubs from the AL.