By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
ATLANTA — The Philadelphia Phillies (21-36) will look for their sixth series victory in Thursday evening's series finale against the Atlanta Braves (25-32) at SunTrust Park, having took two of three so far in the four-game set. Phillies right-hander Ben Lively will make his second career start as he opposes knuckleballer R.A. Dickey.
The Phillies were routed 14-1 on Wednesday, snapping their four-game win streak. The Phillies' only run came via a one-out RBI single by pinch-hitter Daniel Nava in the ninth. Starter Jerad Eickhoff fell to 0-7 on the season, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and a walk through five innings and 68 pitches. Eickhoff had faced the minimum through his first three and one-third innings before allowing a single and RBI double to second baseman Brandon Phillips and right fielder Nick Markakis, respectively in the fourth.
During the loss, Phillies center fielder Odubel Herrera added two more doubles to his already impressive June stat line through five games and 21 plate appearances: seven runs, 11 hits — nine doubles and two home runs — nine RBIs, one walk, two strikeouts and a .550/.571/1.300 slash. Herrera is the first Phillie in franchise history to record 11 consecutive extra-base hits, according to John Clark. The Venezuela native's 21 doubles this season now leads all of Major League Baseball.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (21-36) | Atlanta Braves (25-32) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Ben Lively | RHP | R.A. Dickey | ||
| (1-0, 1.29 ERA) | (3-4, 5.10 ERA) | ||||
Lively Career vs. ATL: N/A
Lively, 25, earned a winning decision in his Major League debut against the San Francisco Giants on June 3. In seven innings and 98 pitches, the right-hander allowed one run on four hits and three walks, but struck out none.
With his debut, Lively became the ninth Phillies starting pitcher to debut since the start of the 2015 season. Lively also became just the seventh Phillies pitcher since 1913 to debut with seven or more innings, one or fewer runs allowed and four or fewer hits allowed, per Elias. The last to accomplish this feat was right-hander Gavin Floyd on Sept. 3, 2004 against the New York Mets. Floyd was also the last Phillies starter to debut tossing seven-plus innings prior to Lively.
Over his last five combined starts with Triple-A Lehigh Valley and the Phillies, Lively is 4-0 with a 1.83 ERA, 0.932 WHIP and 25-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 34 1/3 innings.
Dickey Career vs. PHI: 5-5, 3.12 ERA, 13 G, 13 GS, 83 2/3 IP, 86 H, 36 R, 29 ER, 10 HR, 22 BB, 67 SO, 1.291 WHIP
Dickey, 42, last faced the Phillies on June 13 of last season while as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. In Toronto's 7-0 home defeat, Dickey tossed 6 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on five hits, two walks and four strikeouts. The knuckleballer surrendered a double to third baseman Andres Blanco and home runs to Herrera and designated hitter Ryan Howard in the contest.
The 15-year veteran's career win-loss record is on the brink of falling to .500, with 113 wins and 112 losses spanning 380 appearances and 280 starts. Over his last five starts, Dickey is 0-2 with a 6.07 ERA, 1.854 WHIP ratio and 11-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (21-36) | Atlanta Braves (25-32) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 1 | CF | Ender Inciarte | L |
| 2 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L | 2 | 2B | Brandon Phillips | R |
| 3 | LF | Aaron Altherr | R | 3 | RF | Nick Markakis | L |
| 4 | 1B | Tommy Joseph | R | 4 | LF | Matt Kemp | R |
| 5 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 5 | 1B | Matt Adams | L |
| 6 | RF | Michael Saunders | L | 6 | C | Tyler Flowers | R |
| 7 | C | Cameron Rupp | R | 7 | 3B | Rio Ruiz | L |
| 8 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S | 8 | SS | Dansby Swanson | R |
| 9 | P | Ben Lively | R | 9 | P | R.A. Dickey | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 7:35 p.m.
- TV: CSN
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- A win in Thursday's finale would be the Phillies' first consecutive series victories since taking three straight from April 18-27 against the Mets (2-1), Braves (3-0) and Miami Marlins (2-0).
- Three Phillies — second baseman Cesar Hernandez (7), Herrera (6) and shortstop Freddy Galvis (5) — have active hitting streaks of five or more games.
- Dickey's 0.94 K/BB ratio is the worst among qualified pitchers. His 0.58 ratio since May 9 is also the worst, followed by Phillies RHP Jeremy Hellickson at 1.00.
- Active members of the Phillies are batting .296/.346/.549 lifetime against Dickey with four doubles, one triple, four home runs, six walks and seven RBIs through 71 at-bats.
NL East Standings (entering June 8, 2017)
| W | L | GB | L10 | Streak | Home | Road | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Nationals | 37 | 21 | — | 7-3 | L1 | 16-9 | 21-12 |
| Atlanta Braves | 25 | 32 | 11.5 | 4-6 | W1 | 11-14 | 14-18 |
| New York Mets | 25 | 32 | 11.5 | 5-5 | W1 | 14-19 | 11-13 |
| Miami Marlins | 25 | 33 | 12.0 | 7-3 | W1 | 14-16 | 11-17 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 21 | 36 | 15.5 | 4-6 | L1 | 12-14 | 9-22 |
What's Next:
- Friday, June 9, 2017: at St. Louis Cardinals, 8:15 p.m.
- Busch Stadium
- RHP Jeremy Hellickson (5-3, 4.50 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Wacha (2-3, 4.67 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
