ATLANTA -- Jair Jurrjens had six victories by the end of May last year. As far as Bobby Cox is concerned, the young right-hander could already have more than that impressive total this season.

"He should have a win every start," the Atlanta manager said. "He's pitched that well."

One of Jurrjens' outings was limited to two innings by a long rain delay, but otherwise Cox's point is well taken.

Jurrjens, 2-1 against Colorado last season, will have six days of rest when he faces the Rockies at Turner Field on Tuesday, thanks to an off-day for the Braves last week and Sunday's rainout against Arizona. Derek Lowe (5-1) will also have two extra days of rest when he pitches against the Rockies on Monday night in the series opener. Lowe was scheduled to face Arizona on Sunday.

With a 2.06 ERA, Jurrjens should have better than a 3-2 record. But he has been victimized by a lack of run support and bullpen struggles.

"He's had no luck at all," Cox said.

The Braves scored a total of two runs in Jurrjens' two losses, and it was scoreless in the eighth inning when he got a no-decision in his last start on Tuesday against the Mets in New York. After Jurrjens' solid outing in that game, the Braves blew the lead in the ninth and lost in the 10th.

Jurrjens, 23, insists that he doesn't feel jinxed, however.

"It does begin to play on your mind unless the team is losing," Jurrjens said. "Every game, I go out there trying to win. If I don't win, but the team still wins, I feel like I won.

"All a pitcher can do is give his team a chance to win. If you do that, you feel good. This season, I think I have done that, so I feel good about the way I've pitched."

Jurrjens should. He has limited opponents to just a .227 batting average and has pitched at least into the seventh inning in four of his seven starts not interrupted by rain.

"He's been even better than last year, and that's hard to do, because he had a great season," Cox said. "His control has been pinpoint and his breaking ball is better. He's a good one."

Jurrjens was 13-10 with a 3.68 ERA as a rookie with the Braves last season after being acquired from Detroit in the trade for veteran shortstop Edgar Renteria. The win total was the second most for an Atlanta rookie, surpassed only by Craig McMurtry's 15 wins in 1983.

The native of Curacao was third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting, despite pretty much being a two-pitch pitcher. Now he has a much improved breaking ball to go with his fastball and changeup.

"The slider has given me another pitch for the hitters to have to look for," Jurrjens said. "Last year, I was struggling with it, and hitters could look for my fastball or changeup. I wouldn't say that it is easy now, but having three pitches makes it harder on the hitters.

"I'm still working on my slider, trying to get the break better and have more control with it. But I'm happy with the progress I've made from last year. Hitters now have three good pitches to have to look out for."

Pitching matchup
ATL: RHP Derek Lowe (5-1, 3.80 ERA)
Lowe will be pitching on six days of rest after his scheduled start Sunday against Arizona was rained out. While winning his fourth consecutive start with seven solid innings against the Mets last Monday night, Lowe provided one of his best performances of the season. The 35-year-old sinkerballer held the Mets hitless through the first 3 2/3 innings and limited them to just one extra-base hit -- a seventh-inning leadoff double. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in three of his past four starts. Having pitched the previous four seasons with the Dodgers, Lowe is familiar with the Rockies. He was 2-1 with a 3.26 ERA against them last season.

COL: RHP Jason Marquis (4-3, 5.40 ERA)
About the best that can be said for Marquis is he's not facing the Astros. Already having poor numbers against many of that team's best hitters, Marquis gave up 10 hits and nine runs in 3 2/3 innings in his last start, Wednesday's 15-11 loss to Houston at Coors Field. The Braves were Marquis' original Major League club, but he hasn't fared that well at Turner Field -- he's 8-10 with a 4.53 ERA in 50 games there.

Tidbits
Kenshin Kawakami (2-5) will not pitch in the Colorado series because of Sunday's rainout. He will start Friday in the series opener against Toronto. ... With the two bases-loaded walks Saturday night, Braves pitchers have already forced in eight runs this season. It happened 18 times last year and 13 the year before. ... Omar Infante was away from the Braves on Saturday night for the the birth of a son, Yiomar. It was the first child for Infante and his wife, Yohanna. ... Tom Glavine will pitch a three-inning simulated game before the Braves play Colorado on Monday. It will be the first time he has faced hitters since an aborted rehab start at Double-A Mississippi in mid-April. If all goes well Monday, he will go out on another Minor League rehab assignment that will probably last two starts.

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Up next
• Tuesday: Braves (Jair Jurrjens, 3-2, 2.06) vs. Rockies (Jason Hammel, 0-2, 4.62), 7:00 p.m. ET
• Wednesday: Braves (Javier Vazquez, 3-3, 3.71) vs. Rockies (Jorge De La Rosa, 0-3, 3.16), 7:00 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Braves (Kris Medlen, Major League debut) vs. Rockies (Aaron Cook, 2-1, 5.71), 7:00 p.m. ET