Skip to main content

Opening Day Preview: Braves at Phillies, 3/28/19

Happy Opening Day to all.  A brand new season is upon us and division rivals face off to get things started in the City of Brotherly Love as the reigning National League East champion Atlanta Braves visit the hopeful and revamped Phillies.

The game will be televised locally on NBC 10 on Thursday at 3:00 PM.

The pitching match up...RHP  Julio Teheran (9-9 record, 3.94 ERA last season) vs. RHP Aaron Nola (17-6, 2.37 ERA last season).  Teheran, a native of Colombia, went 1-0 with a 5.14 ERA in four starts against the Phillies last year.  In his career at Citizens Bank Park, the 28-year-old has tallied a 6-2 record with a 3.11 ERA and a .227 batting average against in nine starts.  While facing Teheran in his career, Phils OF Bryce Harper is a .450 hitter with three doubles, eight home runs, 19 RBI and 11 walks with 40 at bats.  Nola went 10-2 with a 2.34 ERA and a .211 batting average against in 17 home starts last year.  The Phillies' first round draft pick from 2014, Nola, sported a 2.84 ERA in 15 day games last season.  Nola has a 7-3 record and a 2.09 ERA along with .185 BAA in 12 career starts against the Braves.

To read the rest of this post, packed with stats and notes, and to help support my baseball coverage become a patron by visiting https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Jersey Shore clinches playoff berth on final day of regular season

Ottto Kemp, image- Jay Floyd With an extra-inning victory over first-half division champions Hudson Valley on Sunday, the Class A Advanced Jersey Shore BlueClaws clinched the team's first playoff appearance since 2018, winning the second-half division title. Key performers in the BlueClaws' clincher were righty hurler Jason Ruffcorn, who threw three innings of relief to earn the victory and third baseman Otto Kemp, notched three hits, a walk, two stolen bases and plated the game winning run in the 11th inning on a sacrifice fly.  On top of that, Kemp, who turned 24-years-old on Saturday, made an absolute game-saving defensive play to help the club hold their lead in the bottom of the 11th frame. One of Jersey Shore's most consistent performers all season long has been right-handed reliever Cam Wynne.  The Phillies' 20th round draft pick in 2021 out of Nebraska.  In 34 appearances, one start, the 24-year-old tallied a 1-1 record with one save, a 2.44 ERA and a .190 batti

PhoulBallz Interview: BlueClaws OF Justin Crawford

Justin Crawford w/ junior reporter Evan At the age of 19, outfielder Justin Crawford has played his way into the conversation of being considered as one of baseball's top prospects. The son of four-time MLB All-Star Carl Crawford, Justin has looked every bit as impressive as his position as the 17th overall draft selection last year would have most fans thinking he should be.  He opened the season with Class A Clearwater where, in 69 games, he notched a .344/.399/.478 slash line.  And since mid-August when he was promoted to Class A Advanced Jersey Shore, the younger Crawford has posted a .300/.364/.440 line.  He's also stolen 44 bases in 52 attempts overall. And while the BlueClaws enter the final week of the regular season 1/2 game out of first place in their division, I spoke with Justin Crawford about the team's hopes of making the postseason for the first time since 2018. I also asked Justin about the similarities and differences between his skillset and his father'

RHP Pipkin headed to AFL after hot August

After completing what was easily the best month of his career, righty hurler Dominic Pipkin is ready to face the tough competition of the prominent Arizona Fall Leage.   Pipkin, who was the Phillies' 9th round draft selection in 2018, has had moderate success in his five years as a pro, posting a 4.93 ERA, a 7.6 K/9 mark and a .260 batting average against mostly at the lower levels on the minors. After missing time this year with an unspecified ailment, the six-foot-four 170-pounder proved to be healthy as he dominated AA competition in nine appearances with the Reading Fightin Phils during August.  Pipkin's impressive production resulted in a 1-0 record with a save and a 0.96 ERA while striking out eight and walking three in 9 1/3 innings. The California native says his efforts to improve have helped him touch 100 MPH on the radar gun, while his fastball velocity is mostly around 96 MPH.   Pipkin's arsenal includes that improved fastball as well as a slider while his curve