By: Brandon Apter, contributor 
Atlanta, GA – After taking two out of three in Miami from the Marlins, the Phillies (18-14) are in Atlanta for a three game set against the NL East bottom-dwelling Braves (7-23). Philadelphia has won four of their last five series' and took two games in Miami by just one run, increasing their record in one-run games to 11-3, which leads Major League Baseball. Also, Sunday's win against the Marlins was the first time in 13 games that saw the Phillies score more than four runs.
Both the Phillies and Braves could be considered rebuilding teams, but the Phils seem to be light years ahead of the Braves at this point, despite the two teams hitting .227 and .226 respectively to hold down the bottom two spots in baseball. The Braves have only scored 90 runs the season, which is last in baseball, and 14 less than the two teams in front of them, the Rays and Phillies.
While neither team might score a ton of runs, pitching makes a big difference too. The Braves starters have an ERA of 4.71 while the Phillies group of young arms is maintaining a 3.74 ERA. Their pitching does well enough to allow the team to win, but Atlanta isn't getting runs or good pitching, a big reason why they have just seven wins through 30 games.
Tonight, the Phillies will send Adam Morgan to the mound for his third start of the season while the Braves will counter with right-hander Matt Wisler.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (18-14) | Atlanta Braves (7-23) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | Adam Morgan | RHP | Matt Wisler | ||
| (0-0, 6.00 ERA) | (1-2, 3.24 ERA) | ||||
After going toe-to-toe with Vince Velasquez in Spring Training for the fifth starter role, Adam Morgan will look to duplicate the success he had to start the season Triple-A tonight against Atlanta. In three starts with the Ironpigs, Morgan posted a 3.57 ERA, but if you eliminate the start in which he allowed four earned runs, his ERA would sink to 2.25. The 26-year-old southpaw hasn't gone more than five innings in his first two big league starts this season, allowing a total of six earned runs in nine innings, striking out nine and walking three.
After going 8-8 with a 4.71 in 19 starts for the Braves last season, Wisler has a 3.24 ERA through six appearances this season. Holding opposing hitters to a .175 average against, Wisler is one of the lone pitching bright spots for the Braves this season. Last time out, he had the best start of his six thus far, shutting the Mets out over eight scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out four. He faced the Phillies once in 2015 and lasted just 4.2 innings, allowing seven earned runs at the beginning of August. Wisler came over to the Braves in the trade that sent Craig Kimbrel and B.J. Upton to the Padres back in April of 2015.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (18-14) | Atlanta Braves (7-23) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L | 1 | RF | Nick Markakis | L |
| 2 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 2 | CF | Ender Inciarte | L |
| 3 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 3 | 1B | Freddie Freeman | L |
| 4 | 1B | Ryan Howard | L | 4 | C | Tyler Flowers | R |
| 5 | C | Carlos Ruiz | R | 5 | LF | Jeff Francoeur | R |
| 6 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S | 6 | 3B | Gordon Beckham | R |
| 7 | LF | Tyler Goeddel | R | 7 | 2B | Chase D'Arnaud | R |
| 8 | P | Adam Morgan | L | 8 | SS | Erick Aybar | S |
| 9 | RF | Peter Bourjos | R | 9 | P | Matt Wisler | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 7:10 p.m.
- TV: CSN
- Radio: 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Phillies starter Adam Morgan is 0-3 with a 4.00 in his career against the Braves, but in two starts at Turner Field, he has a 2.77 ERA.
- Atlanta has hit just seven home runs this season as a team. 32 players have hit seven or more in 2016.
- The Braves are 1-15 at home this season.
- Jeff Francoeur gets the start for Atlanta after serving primarily as a fourth outfielder for the Phillies last season. He hit .258 with 16 doubles, 13 homers and 45 RBI's in 343 plate appearances for Philadelphia.
- Over his last 15 games, Odubel Herrera has hit .400 with a .485 on-base percentage, going 22 for 55 with 10 walks. He's scored 14 runs and driven in five.
- Matt Wisler is 0-1 with a 4.42 ERA at Turner Field this season. He's given up 10 runs, nine earned, in 18.1 innings.
- Only three National League teams, the Nationals, Mets and Cubs, have more wins than the Phillies this season
- The Phillies have 11 more wins than the Braves but the two teams are hitting .227 and .226 respectively, good for second to last and last in all of baseball.
- Matt Wisler's .175 average against ranks sixth in Major League Baseball.
- Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman hit .344 with 15 RBI's last season against the Phillies. This included a .550 average at Turner Field.
- Atlanta took seven out of nine meetings from the Phillies at Turner Field last season.
What's Next:
- Wednesday, May 11th, 2016: at Atlanta Braves , 7:10 p.m.
- Atlanta, GA – Turner Field
- RHP Jerad Eickhoff (1-4, 4.21 ERA) vs. RHP Jhoulys Chacin (1-2, 5.40 ERA)
- TV: CSN, MLB.TV; Radio: 94 WIP
