By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Philadelphia Phillies (3-3-2) — led by right-handed starter Jerad Eickhoff — will oppose the Atlanta Braves (2-5) and right-hander Aaron Blair Saturday afternoon at Spectrum Field.
The Braves will be playing split-squad, with 14-year veteran RHP R.A. Dickey starting the other contest at Champion Stadium in Kissimmee, Florida. Dickey will oppose former Phillies right-hander Severino Gonzalez and the Miami Marlins. The Phillies traded Gonzalez — who was 4-5 with a 6.68 ERA in two seasons — to Miami on Jan. 24 in exchange for player to be named later or cash considerations. Gonzalez had been designated for assignment five days prior to make room for outfielder Michael Saunders.
Both National League East teams have failed to win each of their last three games, the Phillies tying two of the contests while the Braves dropping all three.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Atlanta Braves (2-5) | Philadelphia Phillies (3-3-2) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Aaron Blair | RHP | Jerad Eickhoff | ||
| (2016: 2-7, 7.59 ERA) | (2016: 11-14, 3.65 ERA) | ||||
Starting Lineups:
| Atlanta Braves (2-5) | Philadelphia Phillies (3-3-2) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | CF | Ender Inciarte | L | 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S |
| 2 | SS | Johan Camargo^ | S | 2 | CF | Roman Quinn | S |
| 3 | 3B | Rio Ruiz | L | 3 | DH | Howie Kendrick | R |
| 4 | 1B | Christian Walker | R | 4 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R |
| 5 | DH | Balbino Fuenmayor# | R | 5 | 1B | Tommy Joseph | R |
| 6 | RF | Emilio Bonifacio^ | S | 6 | LF | Dylan Cozens | L |
| 7 | LF | Micah Johnson | L | 7 | RF | Aaron Altherr | R |
| 8 | C | David Freitas^ | R | 8 | SS | J.P. Crawford^ | L |
| 9 | 2B | Travis Demeritte^ | R | 9 | C | Bryan Holaday^ | R |
^ non-roster invitee, # from minor-league camp
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 1:05 p.m.
- TV: CSN
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
Game Notes:
- Former Phillies southpaw prospect Jesse Biddle will throw in relief of Blair, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman. The Phillies traded Biddle to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Feb. 3, 2016 for RHP Yoervis Medina, who was released in July after being injured since spring training (elbow). Biddle's last regular season appearance came on August 27, 2015, with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Tommy John surgery).
- Saturday will be the Phillies' first of six matchups against a National League opponent this spring. They will face the Pittsburgh Pirates and Braves three and two more times respectively before heading north to Cincinnati for Opening Day on April 3.
- Ryan Lawrence, Philly Voice: Could Franco depart Phillies camp to join Dominican WBC team?
- Phillies right fielder Aaron Altherr, third baseman Maikel Franco and first baseman Tommy Joseph are in a three-way tie for second on the team in RBIs this spring (4). Non-roster invitee Brock Stassi leads the way with 7.
- Braves No. 18-ranked prospect OF Dustin Peterson had surgery on Friday for a broken hamate bone in his left hand suffered while batting Wednesday against the New York Yankees. Peterson will be out about eight weeks.
- Blair and Eickhoff each allowed a run through two innings during their spring debuts earlier this week. Blair walked two and struck out three against Houston, while Eickhoff walked one and struck out two against Tampa Bay.
What's Next:
The Phillies will play their first of two split-squad games this spring training on Sunday, home against the Detroit Tigers and away against the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota, Florida. Phillies legends will be in attendance at Spectrum Field for Alumni Day.
- Sunday, March 5, 2017: vs. Detroit Tigers, 1:05 p.m.
- Spectrum Field (Clearwater)
- LHP Daniel Norris (2016: 4-2, 3.38 ERA) vs. RHP Clay Buchholz (2016: 8-10, 4.78 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP, 97.1 The Ticket
- Sunday, March 5, 2017: at Baltimore Orioles, 1:05 p.m.
- Ed Smith Stadium (Sarasota)
- RHP Nick Pivetta (2016, MiLB: 12-8, 3.27 ERA) vs. RHP Mike Wright (2016: 3-4, 5.79 ERA)
- TV: MASN; Radio: 105.7 The Fan
