The Philadelphia Phillies (22-26) will be trying to bounce back from their series loss to Arizona when they face the Atlanta Braves (22-19) in the first game of their four-game weekend series on Thursday night.
Aaron Nola, 4-3, 4.31 ERA, will get the start for the Phillies. The Braves have not announced their starter for the game.
Atlanta and Philadelphia split their last 10 meetings.
**This preview was written before Wednesday’s games were played**
Phillies Trying To Snap Four-Game Road Losing Streak
The Phillies aren’t playing well at the moment, especially on the road where they have lost four straight games. They will try to get back on track with a win over the Braves, which will give them their third win in their last five games and put an end to their road losing streak.
Philadelphia is averaging 4.25 runs per game. Their .257 batting average is 10th in the league. Their .320 on base percentage is 16th, while their .418 slugging percentage is 13th.
Nick Castellanos leads Philadelphia with a .296 batting average. Kyle Schwarber leads the team with 12 home runs, while Alec Bohm leads the team with 33 RBI.
Philadelphia’s pitching hasn’t been good, with the team giving up 4.92 runs per game. Opponents have a .249 batting average against the Phillies, which is 18th in the league. Their 4.54 ERA is 23rd, while their 1.32 WHIP is 20th.
In his last start, Nola gave up four hits and two runs in seven innings, leading to a 12-3 win over the Cubs. They will need another solid start from him if they want to win this game.
Brandon Marsh (Shoulder) is questionable for this game.
Braves Trying To Increase Division Lead
The Braves didn’t play well over the past week and they’ve lost three of their last five games. Despite their slump, they still have a 4.5-game lead over New York in the NL East standings and will try to increase their lead with a win over the Phillies, which will give them their third win in their last six games.
Atlanta is averaging 5.15 runs per game. Their .256 batting average is 12th in the league. Their .332 on base percentage is seventh, while their .456 slugging percentage is second.
Ronald Acuna Jr. leads Atlanta with a .337 batting average. Matt Olson leads the team with 13 home runs, while Sean Murphy leads the team with 36 RBI.
Atlanta’s pitching has been good, with the team giving up 4.02 runs per game. Opponents have a .242 batting average against the Braves, which is 12th in the league. Their 3.64 ERA is fourth, while their 1.27 WHIP is 11th.
They will need a solid performance from their pitching staff if they want to get the win.
Best Bets for this Game
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
The Braves split their last six games, but they’ve won five of their last nine home games. They struggled offensively in recent games, scoring only 10 runs in their last three home games. But, they won’t have trouble scoring in this game because they’ve done well against right-handers and Nola has struggled on the mound, especially on the road where he has given up nine runs in his last three starts. He gave up four runs in his last road start against the Braves and will have a hard time slowing them down in this game. The Phillies have lost seven of their last nine games and eight of their last 10 road games. They have struggled offensively in recent games, scoring only 10 runs in their last four road games. Even though the Braves have not announced their starter for this game, their pitching staff has done a good job on the mound this season, with the Braves ranked sixth in the league when it comes to runs allowed per game. With Philadelphia struggling offensively, the Braves will keep their offense in check, so go with Atlanta to cover the money line.
Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
The Phillies are averaging 4.25 runs per game and 4.52 runs per game on the road. They averaged 5.67 runs per game in their last three games against the Braves. With Atlanta giving up 4.96 runs per game at home, the Phillies will hit their average in this game. The Braves are averaging 5.15 runs per game and 4.58 runs per game at home. They averaged 2.33 runs per game in their last three games against the Phillies. With Philadelphia giving up 5.84 runs per game on the road, the Braves will score enough runs to push the score over the total. The Braves and Phillies played over the total in six of their last seven meetings.