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Philadelphia Phillies Series Preview: The Atlanta Braves

By Chuck Booth

Apr 23, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Jhoulys Chacin (43) delivers a pitch to a New York Mets batter in the fifth inning of their game at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 23, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Jhoulys Chacin (43) delivers a pitch to a New York Mets batter in the fifth inning of their game at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports /
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Today the Philadelphia Phillies will begin a three-game series with the hapless Atlanta Braves.

The third-place Philadelphia Phillies will go to Atlanta to take on the Braves who are mired in the NL East cellar. The Braves already are closer to battling for the first overall pick with the Minnesota Twins then they are to contention.

It’s still early in the season but the Braves are already 12.5 games off of the pace for the NL East lead while the Philadelphia Phillies are only 2.5 games behind (don’t expect a division title though). If there’s ever a series where a sweep should be expected it’s this one.

In the final season of Turner Field, the Braves are sending it off in the worst light possible before moving into SunTrust Park. They are losing games in every way possible and only have hit seven home runs as a team. To put that number in perspective 32 players have as many or more home runs than their entire team. The whole team!

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They are hitting .226 as a team which is second worst in baseball (the Philadelphia Phillies aren’t much better at .227). The Braves have also only scored 90 runs this season which averages out to three per game. That’s not going to win you many baseball games.

The Philadelphia Phillies offence isn’t much better but they are able to win on the back of home runs. The Phillies have hit 25 home runs  showing a high contact to damage ratio.

Manager Freddy Gonzalez is already on the hot seat 30 games into the season which may not be the right decision for a team that is tanking but they need someone to blame for their misfortunes. Freddy Freeman, their only dangerous player, seems to be heating up after a slow start to the season. In may he has upped his average to .280 after hitting .259 in the month of April.

When it comes to pitching, these two teams couldn’t be further apart. The Philadelphia Phillies have a team ERA of 3.95 placing them in the top half of the league while the Braves have an ERA of 4.72 good for 26th. The Phillies pitching staff usually keeps them in the game long enough for the bullpen trio of Andrew Baily, Hector Neris, and Jeanmar Gomez to slam the door on the opposition while the Braves get down early and can’t claw back due to their offensive struggles.

The pitching matchups in the series look like this:

philadelphia phillies
Oct 1, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Jerad Eickhoff (48) in a game against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies won 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
  • Tuesday, May 10th: Adam Morgan (6.00 ERA) vs Matt Wisler (3.24 ERA)
  • Wednesday, May 11th: Jerad Eickhoff (4.21 ERA) vs Jhoulys Chacin (5.40 ERA)
  • Thursday, May 12th: Jeremy Hellickson (4.91 ERA) vs Brandon Finnegan (4.15 ERA)

Looking at these matchups the Braves are lucky to be missing the Philadelphia Phillies’ best starters Aaron Nola and Vincent Velasquez but it presents some interesting matchups. The Phillies will have to go up against the Braves best pitching prospect Matt Wisler. The Braves will also see the Phillies mercurial ace, Jeremy Hellickson. Depending on the day Hellickson can be lights out but his performances can take a turn for the worst very easily.

It should be interesting to watch the offenses in this one because it would be a prime time to break out of slumps looking at the pitchers involved. Odubel Herrera has been the Philadelphia Phillies’ only consistent offensive threat so far with a .324 batting average and a .445 on-base percentage. Players like David Lough (.262 batting average) have provided a spark since coming up but too many players that are central to the Philadelphia Phillies success (Maikel Franco) are mired in slumps.

Next: Jeanmar Gomez is Becoming Reliable

Overall this series should end in a 3-0 sweep by the Philadelphia Phillies to keep things interesting in the NL East. The Phillies are 6-4 in their last 10 and these games shouldn’t pose too much trouble for them. That being said, baseball is a wacky game so anything could happen. Tune in tonight to see the series opener at 7:05 PM Eastern Time.

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