The battle for the National League title begins for the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday as they face off against the Atlanta Braves for their first three of 13 scheduled matchups this season.
Fresh off their series victory over the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, the Phillies, 7-2, have battled their way to victory after victory early on in the season. Meanwhile, the Braves, 1-8, have been left sputtering at the starting line early on.
Red Hot Philly vs Ice Cold Atlanta
The Phillies and Braves have been polar opposites thus far. Last in the league with 24 runs, the Braves have struggled while the Phils, far from their offensive potential, are in the middle of the pack with 45 runs scored. The lack of production out of the Braves is even more pronounced when you factor in that they scored 10 runs in their sole win so far, a 10-0 victory over the Marlins on Friday.
Part of the issue for Atlanta is the lack of Ronald Acuňa Jr., who is still recovering from his torn ACL in May. Atlanta is also down infielder Nacho Alvarez Jr., along with starting pitcher Spencer Strider.
Meanwhile, the Phillies have gotten the job done in each of their games thus far. That is, except when Aaron Nola makes a start. The Phillies are 0-2 in Nola’s starts, and while Nola has allowed eight runs in 11.1 innings of work, the Phils have only managed two runs in support of their longest-tenured player.
The Pitching Matchups
Speaking of Aaron Nola, the right-handed pitcher is will not be making an appearance in this series. Zack Wheeler is set to open the series up on Tuesday against Chris Sale. Taijuan Walker will then make his second start of the season against Grant Holmes on Wednesday. Jesús Luzardo will then close the series out for the Phillies on Thursday against Braves pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach.
Wheeler is very familiar with the Braves’ lineup and has done well against them in his career. Last season, Wheeler allowed only two runs over 19 innings, walking zero Braves batters. Walker, meanwhile, did not pitch against the Braves last season, but a majority of the Braves’ lineup has hit Walker well in the past. Bryan De La Cruz has the most at-bats against Walker at 23 and has hit him for a .391 average and a 1.026 OPS. Luzardo, having pitched for the Marlins last season, started one game against the Braves, allowing five runs in 5.0 innings of work.
An Opportunity for the Phillies
Technically speaking, the Phillies lead the National League East. At 7-2, they have a one-game lead over the New York Mets, 6-3, and a six-game lead over the Braves.
No one should even be paying attention to that yet.
Instead, we should pay attention to this: the Phillies and Braves will certainly be two of the three teams competing for the NL East title this season. It is in the Phillies’ best interest to get in as many wins now against the division rival as possible. With 13 matchups, the Phillies need to win at least seven in order to secure the tiebreaker against the Braves, should they need it. If the Braves are starting out cold, then the Phillies have a perfect opportunity to secure two or potentially three of those victories now.
Nine of the Phillies’ 13 contests against the Braves land before the All-Star Break this season, so the Phillies need to get as much ground against the Braves as early as possible, making it as hard as possible for the Braves to overtake them in September.
To do that, the order of business is simple: go into Atlanta. The Braves have only one win thus far, and it’s the Phillies’ job to keep them there as long as possible.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
