Cliff Lee and the Phillies Look to Tie Up Series Against the Braves

The Phillies will face divisional rival, Atlanta Braves, in game two of a now three game series. Unfortunately, yesterday’s game was rained out and a make date has yet to be announced. In game one, the Phillies took the loss, after Jake Diekman blew the save in the ninth inning after Dan Uggla hit a grand slam to give the Braves a lead the Phillies couldn’t recover from. The shame of it all was Domonic Brown hit a three run home run in the eighth to give the Phillies the lead after being down by four at the start of the inning.

The Phillies will send ace Cliff Lee the hill as the Phillies attempt to tie up the series. Cliff Lee is 2-1 on the season with inflated 5.50 ERA. Though Cliff Lee has strikeout to walk ratio of 15:1, he has not been as efficient as the Phillies need, only going seven innings in one outing. The Phillies really need their starters to go deeper into the game in order to put less stress on their already strained bullpen. That strain is a possible reason as to why the bullpen has been shaky as of late.

Cliff Lee will be opposed by the young, Braves, right-hander, Julio Teheran. After pitching in his first full season in 2013, Teheran is looking to avoid any sophomore slump. After going 14-8 last season with 3.20 ERA, Teheran has started right where he left off going 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA in his first three games of the season. Jimmy Rollins is hitting .444 and Chase Utley is hitting .667 in their careers off Teheran.

Game Notes:

• Phillies and Braves will celebrate the life of Jackie Robinson today after missing Jack Robinson Day yesterday. Expect players to be wear Jackie’s 42 on the back of their jerseys.
• Mike Adams was officially activated yesterday from the DL. Adams was recovering from shoulder injury.
• Ben Revere is back in the lineup tonight for the Phillies. Revere has been recovering from rib soreness.
• Chase Utley is batting .489 after 13 games, the highest since Von Hayes batted .500 after 13 games in 1989

Lineups:

Phillies Lineup:

1. Ben Revere CF
2. Jimmy Rollins SS
3. Chase Utley 2B
4. Ryan Howard 1B
5. Marlon Byrd RF
6. Domonic Brown LF
7. Carlos Ruiz C
8. Freddy Galvis 3B
9. Cliff Lee P

Braves Lineup:

1. Jason Heyward RF
2. B.J. Upton CF
3. Freddie Freeman 1B
4. Justin Upton LF
5. Evan Gattis C
6. Dan Uggla 2B
7. Chris Johnson 3B
8. Andrelton Simmons SS
9. Julio Teheran P

First Pitch: 7:05 PM ET

Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pa

Weather: Clear and Breezy 32^oF, Wind: NE 9 mph Gusts: 17 mph. Wind Chill: 24^oF

TV: PHL 17

Radio: 1210 WPHT, 94 WIP

Andrew Shipotofsky is writter for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Ashipotofsky