The Philadelphia Phillies will try to continue their attacking renewal when they meet the Atlanta Braves in the second game of their three-game Road series on Saturday.
Philadelphia scored only one point over the previous three games when it was swept by the Houston Astros. The Phillies came out of sleep on Friday by scoring a high number of runs in a 13-0 win.
In the meantime, the Atlanta attack continues to struggle. The Braves have been empty for the past two games and have lost three in a row. The exception is the first Honkman Matt Olson, who struck 1-out-5 on Friday to expand his line from reaching the base to a Major League Best 28 consecutive matches, the longest by a Braves player since Freddie Freeman had a 33-game streak in 2020.
Philadelphia has a 4-3 lead in the season series and half a game lead on the New York Mets in the National League East. Atlanta is seven games below .500 and 10 1/2 back of the Phillies.
Philadelphia Shortstop Trea Turner led the 17-hit attack on Friday by going 4-out-6 to go with a few home runs, with catcher JT RealMuto 3-out-4. Each starting player of Philadelphia picked up at least one hit.
The planned starting pitchers for Saturday are Philadelphia Lefty Jesus Luzardo (7-3, 4.08 ERA) vs. Atlanta Right-Hander Spencer Schwellenbach (6-4, 3.21).
Luzardo threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the New York Mets in his most recent start last Sunday. Luzardo allowed three hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in the 7-1 win. It was his second scoreless Stint in 16 Starts this season.
And NL East Games seem to motivate him.
“Ideally, you love the same juice for every start, but I would lie if I said you will start when it doesn’t bring a little extra, knowing what is on the line,” said Luzardo.
“He was really good,” said Rob Thomson manager after the game. “He has really good things. He is a competitor and he will find out.”
Luzardo is 3-3 with a 3.89 ERA in eight career starts against the Braves, with 53 strikeouts in 41 2/3 innings. He did not get a decision when he faced Atlanta on 10 April when he spent one point on six hits, one walk and six strikeouts in six innings in the loss of 4-2, 11 inning.
Schwellenbach brings a three-game extraction streak into the game. In his outing on Monday against the New York Mets, he worked seven innings and stood up two points on four hits, one walk and four strikeouts and earned the 3-2 victory.
During his last nine starts, Schwellenbach is 5-1 with a 2.74 ERA. During that piece, he thrown at least six innings in every outing on 11 June, including a complete game 6-2 victory over the Milwaukee Bewers.
“Nothing surprises me with him anymore,” said Atlanta manager Brian Snitker. “You know it is no longer a small monster. You expect it and I think he expects it. He is just so focused.”
“Every time I have seen him pitch, I feel that he continued to do it great,” said Atlanta Right Fielder Ronald Acuna Jr.
Schwellenbach has made four career-starts against the Phillies and goes 2-0 with a 2.22 ERA. He got the start against Luzardo on April 10 and threw six innings and only allowed one point, but did not receive a decision in the victory of Atlanta.
-Field level Media
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