Braves at Phillies
The Atlanta Braves open a seven-game road trip Monday at the Philadelphia Phillies seeking to move closer to their second consecutive National League East title, after a very successful weekend series victory over Washington. Atlanta captured three of the four games with the Nationals to push its division lead to nine games, and while Sunday’s 9-4 loss snapped a nine-game winning streak, the Braves begin the trip having won 10 of its past 15 road contests.
Three Braves – first baseman Freddie Freeman (38), outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (37) and third baseman Josh Donaldson (36) – have hit at least 35 homers this season, and as a team Atlanta has slugged 227 on the season, just eight shy of the franchise record set in 2003. Philadelphia enters the final two weeks trying to stay alive in a crowded NL wild card race, beginning Monday two games out of the second wild card spot after winning a three-game weekend series with the Mets. Sunday’s 10-7 victory in the series finale took 4 hours, 29 minutes – one minute shy of matching the longest nine-inning game in NL history – and the Phillies used 20 players, including seven relievers. Catcher J.T. Realmuto, who did not play Sunday, has homered in three of his past four games and is 10-for-22 during his current five-game hitting streak.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FS Southeast (Atlanta), NBCS Philadelphia
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Mike Foltynewicz (5-5, 5.28 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Aaron Nola (12-4, 3.63)
Foltynewicz continues making his case to be a part of Atlanta’s postseason pitching plans, giving up two earned runs or fewer in his last four starts and pitching to a 2.11 ERA with 19 hits allowed in 21 1/3 innings in that span. The 27-year-old held Toronto to two hits across five scoreless innings with three walks and two strikeouts on Tuesday, lowering his ERA to 3.31 in six starts since being recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett. Foltynewicz made one of his better 2019 starts in his lone appearance against Philadelphia on June 16, giving up one run on four hits with five walks and six strikeouts in six innings.
Nola was outstanding across six August starts, going 3-2 with a 2.52 ERA and .188 opponents batting average, but struggled Wednesday at Cincinnati while allowing five runs on five hits with three walks and six strikeouts in four innings. The 26-year-old had not surrendered that many runs since a June 15 outing against the Braves, and has allowed two earned runs or fewer in nine of his past 15 starts. Nola, who entered Sunday seventh in the NL with 200 strikeouts, is 3-0 in four starts against Atlanta this season with a 3.60 ERA and 1.28 WHIP, striking out 28 in 25 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Phillies RF Bryce Harper, who did not play Saturday after being hit on the hand with a pitch Friday, drew a bases-loaded walk as a pinch hitter in the seventh Sunday.
2. Atlanta INF/OF Charlie Culberson broke an 0-for-26 skid with a ninth-inning homer Sunday.
3. Philadelphia 3B Maikel Franco homered Sunday and has four hits in his past nine at-bats.