By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Atlanta, GA – The Philadelphia Phillies sent nine men to the plate in the eighth inning on Saturday night without registering a hit, leading to a 9-5 win over the Atlanta Braves. That feat had not been accomplished for the team since 1992.
With just one day to go until the trade deadline, Jeremy Hellickson put together an okay start yesterday against the Braves, allowing three runs in 5.2 innings while dealing with a bruised pitching hand. In addition to the Blue Jays and Orioles, you can now add the Tigers to the list of suitors that have interest in the 28-year-old righty.
This afternoon, the Phillies will look to close out the series with a win in Atlanta behind Jerad Eickhoff, who has good career numbers against the Braves. He'll be opposed by Joel De La Cruz, who is making his first start since July 4 against the Phillies.
Starting Pitching Matchup:
| Philadelphia Phillies (48-58) | Atlanta Braves (36-68) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Jerad Eickhoff | RHP | Joel De La Cruz | ||
| (3-8, 3.83 ERA) | (0-3, 4.66 ERA) | ||||
Eickhoff will look to continue his career success against the Braves this afternoon while also aiming to close out a rough month of July on a high note. After posting a 2.23 ERA in six June starts, Eickhoff has gone 1-3 with a 5.23 ERA in five July starts. His issue seems to be command, especially with his curveball that stumped so many hitters when he came to the big leagues last season. In his last outing, he threw it more, 28 times to be exact, against the Marlins and it paid off. He went seven innings, allowed just one run and struck out eight. He faced the Braves back on July 2, pitching seven innings of two-run ball with eight strikeouts. In four career starts against Atlanta, Eickhoff is 2-1 with a 1.73 ERA, he has struggled on the road this season, sporting a 4.93 ERA in 10 starts away from Citizens Bank Park. Eickhoff has pitched a quality start in 13 of his 21 starts this season.
The Braves will send Joel De La Cruz to the hill. He's making his first start for Atlanta since July 4 against the Phils at Citizens Bank Park, where he went six innings and allowed seven runs, four of which were earned. De La Cruz has started twice this season with the majority of his work coming in relief. He pitched two-thirds of an inning in Thursday's game out of the pen.
Starting Lineups:
| Philadelphia Phillies (48-58) | Atlanta Braves (36-68) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | 2B | Cesar Hernandez | S | 1 | 2B | Jace Peterson | L |
| 2 | CF | Odubel Herrera | L | 2 | 3B | Chase D'Arnaud | R |
| 3 | 3B | Maikel Franco | R | 3 | 1B | Freddie Freeman | L |
| 4 | 1B | Tommy Joseph | R | 4 | RF | Nick Markakis | L |
| 5 | RF | Aaron Altherr | R | 5 | LF | Jeff Francoeur | R |
| 6 | C | Carlos Ruiz | R | 6 | CF | Ender Inciarte | L |
| 7 | LF | Cody Asche | L | 7 | C | A.J. Pierzynski | L |
| 8 | SS | Freddy Galvis | S | 8 | SS | Erick Aybar | S |
| 9 | P | Jerad Eickhoff | R | 9 | P | Joel De La Cruz | R |
Broadcast Information:
- First pitch: 1:35 p.m.
- TV: CSN
- Radio: 94 WIP
What's Next:
- Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016: vs. San Francisco Giants, 7:05 p.m.
- Philaelphia, PA – Citizens Bank Park
- RHP Zach Eflin (3-4, 4.23 ERA) vs. Madison Bumgarner (10-6, 2.09 ERA)
- TV: CSN, MLB.TV; Radio: 94 WIP
