Phillies look to take series from Braves on Sunday at SunTrust Park

The Philadelphia Phillies (39-31) and Atlanta Braves (41-30) have taken turns breaking the hearts of each other’s fans over each of the last two nights.

The Braves rallied with three runs in the bottom of the 9th inning for a 9-8 walkoff victory in the Friday night series opener. Last night, the Phillies scored twice in the 9th for a comeback 5-4 win.

All of that drama leaves the two teams right where they began when this key mid-June series began. The Braves lead the Phillies by 1.5 game in the National League East Division standings, but by just one game in the loss column.

With another win in Sunday’s finale, the Phillies can pull off a series victory, something that seemed improbably just about 37 hours ago after Friday night’s demoralizing defeat.

After this, the Phillies come back up north to take on the division-rival Washington Nationals in a four-game set at Nationals Park beginning on Monday evening. That idea of facing division rivals is one that Phillies fans should get used to, as it will only be NL East opposition for the next month.

SUNDAY STARTING LINEUPS

PHILLIES

1. Jean Segura SS
2. Bryce Harper RF
3. Scott Kingery CF
4. Rhys Hoskins 1B
5. Cesar Hernandez 2B
6. Nick Williams LF
7. Maikel Franco 3B
8. Andrew Knapp C
9. Vince Velasquez P

BRAVES

1. Ronald Acuna Jr.CF
2. Dansby Swanson SS
3. Freddie Freeman 1B
4. Josh Donaldson 3B
5. Nick Markakis RF
6. Austin Riley LF
7. Ozzie Albies 2B
8. Tyler Flowers C
9. Mike Foltynewicz P

 

SHIBE VINTAGE SPORTS STARTING PITCHING MATCHUP

PHILLIES – Vince Velasquez: 2-3, 4.08 ERA, 1.513 WHIP, 39 hits over 39.2 IP across 16 games (6 starts) with a 45/21 K:BB. It is expected that Velasquez will simply serve as an “Opener” in this game, possibly to be followed by lefty Cole Irvin.

BRAVES – Mike Foltynewicz: 1-5, 6.02 ERA, 1.318 WHIP, 52 hits over 49.1 IP across nine starts with a 42/13 K:BB. Foltynewicz spent the first month of the season on the IL and was activated on April 27. He has produced just three Quality Starts over his first nine, and has allowed a dozen earned runs and five homers in 16 innings over his last three outings.

PHILLIES NUGGETS PREGAME NOTES

• Foltynewicz has made 13 career appearances (12 starts) against the Phillies in his career: 6-3, 3.28 ERA, 1.164 WHIP, 57 hits allowed over 71.1 IP with a 75/26 K:BB ratio.
• The Phillies with a win today can get to the .500 mark on the road this season. They are currently 16-17 away from home and 23-14 at Citizens Bank Park. They also look to get to the .500 mark in June, now 6-7 on the month.
• After the last two night’s dramatic finishes, the Phillies are now 8-7 in one-run games this season.

 

INJURY REPORT

The Phillies have activated righty reliever Pat Neshek for this game. He joins Edubray Ramos, who returned from the IL this past week, as the Phillies begin to put their injury-depleted bullpen back together. It is expected that Adam Morgan will go on a minor league rehab assignment as soon as Monday, and the lefty could return later next week.

 

TICKET IQ PROGRAMMING INFORMATION

• Sunday June 16 at 1:20 pm EDT vs. the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia; MLB Network (out-of-market only)
• Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP, WTTM 1680 (Spanish)

 

MORE FROM PHILLIES NATION:

• Cesar delivers in 9th as Phillies rally for emotional victory over Braves
• Larry Shenk’s Phillies Minor League Report: 6/16/19
• June 15 MLB Power Ranking: Phillies move up a notch
• Phillies need to develop impact prospects in order to keep up with Braves
• Series with Braves opens a one-month stretch of only NL East rivals