Phillies at Braves series preview: 8/21- 8/23

Another series, another preview. The Phillies head south to take on their divisional rival Braves in a three-game series beginning Friday night.

Atlanta at 14-11 sit atop the National League East Division. Fresh off getting swept in a double header at the Blue Jays on Thursday, the Phillies and their 9-12 record reside at the bottom of the division.

A brief rundown of the pitching match ups and other key notes from this series are ahead.

Friday, 7:10pm. Aaron Nola (2-1, 2.05 ERA) vs. Max Fried (3-0, 1.24 ERA). In 19 career starts against Atlanta, Nola has an 11-5 record with a 2.82 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Ronald Acuna Jr. is 7-for-22 (.318 avg) with two home runs and four RBI in his career when facing Nola. In 2019 Nola had a 4.75 ERA in six starts against the Braves. Fried allowed two earned runs in his first start this season and in four starts since then he has allowed just two total runs, both earned. The lefty Fried has a 2-2 record with a 4.55 ERA in 10 career appearances (four starts) against the Phillies. JT Realmuto is 5-for-15 with a triple, two homers and five RBI against Fried.

Saturday, 7:10pm. Zack Wheeler (3-0, 2.81 ERA) vs. Robbie Erlin (0-0, 5.14 ERA). In 14 career starts against Atlanta, Wheeler sports a 6-5 record, a 4.04 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Freddie Freeman is 14-for-29 (.483 avg) with three doubles, two homers and seven RBI in his career against Wheeler. Erlin previously pitched for the Pirates this season, but was claimed off waivers by the Braves. The left-handed Erlin has a 3.00 ERA in six appearances against the Phils. Bryce Harper is 6-for-8 (.750 avg) with a double, a triple and six RBI in his career against Erlin.

Sunday, 7:08pm. Zach Eflin (0-1, 5.14 ERA) vs. Josh Tomlin (1-0, 2.35 ERA). Acuna is 4-for-9 (.444 avg) with a homer in his career against Eflin. In seven starts against Atlanta, Eflin has tallied a 3-3 record with a 3.66 ERA. In nine career appearances, all in relief, against the Phillies, the righty Tomlin has a 4.00 ERA. Didi Gregorius is 0-for-8 against Tomlin in his career.

Rhys Hoskins, image- Jay Floyd

Rhys Hoskins is a .231 hitter with six homers and 22 RBI in 48 career games against the Braves. Hoskins is batting .190 in 12 night games this season.

In 82 games against the Braves, JT Realmuto has a .279 average with 15 home runs and 48 RBI. Realmuto is batting .231 in three road games this year.

1n 135 games against the Braves in his career, Harper has a .278 average with 33 home runs and 82 RBI.

Catcher Travis d'Arnaud, a former Phillies prospect, is a .269 hitter with nine homers in 66 career games against the team that drafted him. d'Arnaud was traded to Toronto in the deal that brought back Roy Halladay.

Shortstop Dansby Swanson sports a .253 batting average with six homers and 20 RBI in 53 games against the Phillies.

The Phillies team OPS of .800 ranks second best in the majors. The Braves' .762 mark ranks 12th in MLB.

The Phillies' 8.07 bullpen ERA is the worst in all of MLB. Atlanta's 3.51 bullpen ERA is 7th best in the big leagues.

PhoulBallz Interview: Reading second baseman Jesmuel Valentin

Jesmuel Valentin, image- Jay Floyd Switch-hitting infielder Jesmuel Valentin has been a bit of an underrated contributor with the Double-A Reading Fightins. Heading into action on Friday, Valentin was batting .339 over his last 14 games. Overall this season, the 22-year-old is batting .282 with four home runs and 35 RBI in 64 games. Valentin, who plays mostly second base, but dabbles at shortstop a bit also, is the son of former big leaguer Jose Valentin . The Puerto Rico native was a supplementary round pick (51st overall) of the Dodgers in 2012. He was acquired by the Phils as part of the Roberto Hernandez trade in 2014. Recently, I spoke with Jesmuel about his team's success, growing up around the game and more. Read ahead for that full interview. -The Reading team has been great and you've contributed very nicely to the club's success. What are your thoughts on competition in the Eastern League this year? I just came here with the mindset that...

Catching prospect O'Hoppe tabbed to join Phillies

Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd Please consider supporting my work and via my Patreon page . For a small monthly fee, your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and other prospect related material as well as early access to all of my other content such as this feature. Thank you. On Friday, the Phillies added a pair of catchers to their 2020 player pool. Minor leaguers Logan O'Hoppe (pronounced Oh-HOP-ee) and Henri Lartigue arrived in Philadelphia to help catch bullpen sessions for the team's collection of approximately 30 pitchers. The call to O'Hoppe was extremely welcome as the 20-year-old had been staying as active as he possibly could, working out with other players that have been been waiting out quarantine due to the current pandemic at his home on Long Island. However, he had been very eager to step back onto an actual baseball field. "I just hope I can play soon. Where ever that is or whatever form that is, that'd be aw...

Weekend Preview: Phillies at Yankees

The Phillies (22-17) head up to New York to take on the Yankees (24-17) in their new digs this weekend. It should be a fun Memorial Day weekend at the new Yankee Stadium. A record 75 homeruns have been hit at Yankee Stadium in the first 20 games there. The Phils haven't visited the Bronx since 2000. Read on for pitching match ups, game times, and plenty more notes. Friday, 7:05pm. Brett Myers (3-2, 4.50 ERA) vs. AJ Burnett (2-1, 5.02 ERA). Myers has had one career start against the Yankees. He won that game, in June 2006, by throwing 6 2/3 innings, striking out 11 and giving up just 2 earned runs. Myers is 3-0 on the road this season. Burnett has a 5-7 record in 16 career games against the Phils with a 4.57 ERA and 2 complete games. Burnett at home this season has no record in 4 starts, with a 4.15 ERA. Greg Dobbs is 4-for-6 in his career against Burnett with a double and 2 RBI. Matt Stairs is 2-for-8 off Burnett...both hits are homeruns . Saturday, 4:10pm. "Jay" Hap...

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