Braves and Phillies play in series rubber match
Philadelphia Phillies (74-52, first in the NL East) vs. Atlanta Braves (67-59, second in the NL East)
Atlanta; Thursday, 7:08 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Phillies: Cristopher Sanchez (9-8, 3.46 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 108 strikeouts); Braves: Spencer Schwellenbach (4-6, 4.04 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 85 strikeouts)
: LINE Braves -112, Phillies -107; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies play on Thursday with the winner claiming the three-game series.
Atlanta is 33-27 in home games and 67-59 overall. The Braves have the second-best team ERA in the majors at 3.69.
Philadelphia has a 32-29 record on the road and a 74-52 record overall. The Phillies are 53-10 in games when they scored five or more runs.
Thursday’s game is the ninth meeting between these teams this season. The Braves are ahead 5-3 in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Marcell Ozuna has 24 doubles and 37 home runs for the Braves. Jorge Soler is 10-for-29 with two doubles, four home runs and 10 RBI over the past 10 games.
Alec Bohm has a .295 batting average to lead the Phillies, and has 43 doubles, two triples and 13 home runs. Trea Turner is 12-for-40 with a home run and five RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Braves: 6-4, .251 batting average, 3.13 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs
Phillies: 5-5, .262 batting average, 4.86 ERA, outscored by six runs
INJURIES: Braves: Austin Riley: 10-Day IL (hand), Alex Jordan Minter: 60-Day IL (hip), Ozzie Albies: 10-Day IL (wrist), Raymond Kerr: 60-Day IL (elbow), Spencer Strider: 60-Day IL (elbow), Huascar Ynoa: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ronald Acuna Jr.: 60-Day IL (knee), Angel Perdomo: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Phillies: Spencer Turnbull: 60-Day IL (back), Austin Hays: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Ranger Suarez: 15-Day IL (back), Luis Ortiz: 60-Day IL (ankle), Dylan Covey: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
READ MORE: Phillies turn to Cristopher Sanchez in finale vs. Braves
The visiting Philadelphia Phillies hope left-hander Cristopher Sanchez can build on his latest outing when they meet the Atlanta Braves in the decisive game of a three-game series on Thursday.
The Braves took the series opener 3-1 on Tuesday before the Phillies came from behind for a 3-2 win on Wednesday. The latest result ended Atlanta’s three-game winning streak and extended Philadelphia’s lead in the National League East to seven games. Atlanta’s edge over the New York Mets for the final NL wild-card spot shrunk to 1 1/2 games.
Sanchez (9-8, 3.46 ERA) is coming off one of his best performances of the season, a two-hit complete game against the Washington Nationals on Sunday. He allowed one run, on a solo homer, and struck out four without issuing a walk.
Sanchez recorded 15 ground-ball outs, which is tied for the most by a Phillies pitcher in a single game since Statcast began tracking data in 2008. He needed only 99 pitches to throw his second complete game of the season.
“He just continued to pound the strike zone,” Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto said. “For him to be able to pitch so deep in the game with such a low pitch count, that’s impressive.”
Sanchez has not faced the Braves this season. He has made three career appearances, two starts, against Atlanta, going 0-2 with a 4.73 ERA. He lost both starts to the Braves last season.
