By: Brandon Apter, contributor 
Philadelphia, PA - Following a loss to the Braves yesterday, the Phillies fell to 2-3 against MLB's worst team this season as their offense continued to struggle in a 2-0 shutout loss. This afternoon, the Phils will look to avoid being swept for the first time in 2016.
Coming into the series with the Braves, Philadelphia had won eight of their last 11 games, crawling into a virtual tie for first in the National League East. With a hope to jump start the offense, Phils skipper Pete Mackanin mentioned after yesterday's loss that he planned on giving Ryan Howard time to "clear his head". The 36-year-old veteran is struggling mightily, hitting .091 (4-for-44) in May with 17 strikeouts. Tommy Joseph will get the start today at first, looking to continue his success from his first week in the big leagues, going 4-for-12 with a homer and an RBI.
If the Phillies plan to take the finale, they will need a strong outing from right-hander Jerad Eickhoff, looking for just his second win this season. The Braves promoted Casey Kelly from Triple-A Gwinnett to start today's matinee.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Atlanta Braves (12-30) | Philadelphia Phillies (24-19) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Casey Kelly | RHP | Jerad Eickhoff | ||
| (0-0, 3.00 ERA) | (1-6, 4.44 ERA) | ||||
Through the issues Jerad Eickhoff has had on the mound this season, his last outing could be considered one of his better ones. In a 5-3 Phillies loss to Miami, he pitched six inning and gave up three runs and struck out four. The start prior to that, the Braves tagged him for four runs, three earned, in just 4.1 innings. That was his only outing over his last four that he had not gone beyond six innings. The right-hander seems to have some control problems this season, with his curveball not having as much bite and his fastball lacking velocity. Eickhoff is 0-1 with a 2.38 ERA in two starts against the Braves.
Casey Kelly will make his first start for the Braves this season after appearing in a relief role for a game earlier on in the year. The once highly regarded Red Sox prospect went 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA in five starts in Triple-A for Atlanta.
Starting Lineups:
| Atlanta Braves (12-30) | Philadelphia Phillies (24-19) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | LF | Ender Inciarte | L | 1 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L |
| 2 | 3B | Chase D'Arnaud | R | 2 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 3 | 1B | Freddie Freeman | L | 3 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R |
| 4 | RF | Nick Markakis | L | 4 | 1B | Tommy Joseph | R |
| 5 | 2B | Gordon Beckham | R | 5 | C | Cameron Rupp | R |
| 6 | C | A.J. Pierzynski | L | 6 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S |
| 7 | SS | Daniel Castro | R | 7 | LF | Tyler Goeddel | R |
| 8 | P | Casey Kelly | R | 8 | P | Jerad Eickhoff | R |
| 9 | CF | Mallex Smith | L | 9 | RF | Peter Bourjos | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 1:35 p.m.
- TV: CSN
- Radio: 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- The Phillies have totaled eight hits with 17 strikeouts and four walks during this series against the Braves
- Philadelphia failed to bat with a runner in scoring in position during yesterday's 2-0 loss.
- Atlanta has passed the Phillies in the run-differential column with 3.3 per game. The Phils are last in MLB with 3.2 runs per game.
- Odubel Herrera is hitless in his last 11 at-bats with four strikeouts and one walk.
- The Braves have hit nine homers over the last six games after going deep nine times over their first 36 games.
What's Next:
- Friday, May 12th, 2016: at Detroit, 7:10 p.m.
- Detroit, MI – Comerica Park
- RHP Vince Velasquez (5-1, 2.42 ERA) vs. RHP Mike Pelfrey (0-4, 5.49 ERA)
- TV: CSN, MLB.TV; Radio: 94 WIP
