After losing two out of three to the Cubs, I'm not sure any of us expected the Phillies (31-38) to take the first two games of this set against the Braves (36-34). Today, the two teams will face off in the southern heat at 12:10pm. Behind strong starting pitching, a confident bullpen and Ryan Howard's bat, the Phils took the first two games of this series against their NL East rivals. Game one gave us a pitchers duel with Cole Hamels and Julio Teheran. While neither factored into the final decision, they both showed us why they are considered as two of the best pitchers in the game this season. The Phils won game one in the 13th inning, 6-1. Yesterday, Kyle Kendrick overcame his first inning woes and tossed seven strong innings of two-run ball. An early two-run homer off the bat of Ryan Howard would pace the Phils to a 5-2 win. Today, the Phillies aim for the sweep over the now second place Braves.
Since June 3rd, the Phillies bullpen has been the best in the majors. Compiling a 1.39 ERA over that time, opponents have only hit .217 off of them. They may be called on again today early, as Roberto Hernandez (2-5, 4.26) takes the hill in the series finale. Having not reached the seventh inning in any start this season other than May 4th against Washington, Roberto Hernandez will look to pitch more effectively today in order to lower his pitch count early in games. Last time out, Hernandez worked 5.2 innings before being tossed out on a questionable ejection, and gave up two runs on three hits in a 2-1 Phils loss to the Cubs. Earlier in the season, Hernandez faced the Braves in Philadelphia and gave up two runs over six innings, yet he walked six. The Phils lost that one, 9-6, despite Roberto pitching well. June hasn't been a great month for the Phillies right-hander. He gave up four runs in two of his three starts this month, unable to get to the sixth inning in any outing. During four starts in May, Hernandez gave up just five earned runs. This month, he has given up 10 earned in his three starts. He will look to build on his last start today against Atlanta.
The Braves will counter will 36-year-old Aaron Harang (5-5, 3.20), who has had a heck of a comeback season with Atlanta. In his first five starts this season, Harang gave up only three runs in 30.2 innings of work while striking out 33 hitters. After getting shelled for nine runs in late April by the Marlins, the veteran righty didn't take a step back. Harang has held opposing teams to three runs or less in seven of his last eight starts since that loss on April 30th. His last time out, Harang got the 'W' in the Braves 4-3 victory over the Angels. He threw six innings and gave up just one run on four hits. This month, Harang's walk totals seem to be up as he has given out 13 free passes and struck out only eight hitters. In May, he put 34 batters down via the strikeout while walking only five. The Phillies will need to show the patience they had yesterday in today's game if they want to get to Harang early.
Game Notes:
- Jimmy Rollins gets the day off today, as Cesar Hernandez gets the start at short and in the lead-off spot. John Mayberry Jr. gets the start in center over Ben Revere, who was seen limping after the marathon game on Monday.
- As a team, the Phillies hitters have a .303 average against Harang. Ryan Howard has taken him deep three times in 21 at-bats, while Chase Utley has four doubles and a homer in 22 at-bats.
- The Braves hitters have a combined 57 at-bats against Roberto Hernandez, compiling a .175 average. Evan Gattis is 1-for-3 with a homer a two RBI's.
- The Upton Bros. get the day off today. Justin left last night's game after feeling light-headed and dizzy.
- Reid Brignac is 5-for-11 in the series against the Breaves with a double, triple and two RBI's. The Phillies third baseman's slash line is impressive for June at .311/.340/.533. He is hitting .391 over the last seven days.
- Marlon Byrd's batting average has dropped 18 points since the end of May, sitting at .261. The Phils right fielder is hitting just .200 this month with 19 strikeouts.
Phillies Lineup
- Cesar Hernandez SS
- Wil Nieves C
- Chase Utley 2B
- Ryan Howard 1B
- Marlon Byrd RF
- Domonic Brown LF
- John Mayberry Jr. CF
- Reid Brignac 3B
- Roberto Hernandez P
Braves Lineup
- Tommy La Stella 2B
- Ramiro Pena SS
- Freddie Freeman 1B
- Evan Gattis C
- Jason Heyward RF
- Chris Johnson 3B
- Ryan Doumit LF
- Jordan Schafer
- Aaron Harang P
Location: Turner Field, Atlanta, Georgia
Weather: 87°F –Clear Skies–13% PoP
Game Time: 12:10 PM Eastern
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
