Phillies vie for series split with Braves

The Philadelphia Phillies (75-70) conclude their four-game series with the NL East leading Atlanta Braves (91-56) on Thursday night in South Philadelphia. The Braves have taken the first two games of the series, so the Phils will hope to salvage a series split heading into the weekend. The Braves won game one of the series 7-2 before the Phillies won a close one, 6-5, in game two. On Wednesday, a Tyler Flowers three-run homer was all Atlanta would need in a 3-1 win. The Braves have a 9.5 game lead over Washington in the National League East.

Meanwhile, Wild Card potential for the Phillies remains alive as the 2019 campaign continues to wind down. The Cubs lost on Wednesday, but the Mets won, so the Phillies remain two games behind Chicago and Milwaukee for the second Wild Card spot in the National League. New York is now tied with Philadelphia while Arizona is just a half game behind both the Phillies and Mets.

The Phils will send Drew Smyly to the hill in the series finale on Thursday night. He’s coming off of one of his best outings as a Phillie. He’ll be opposed by Braves right-hander Julio Teheran, who last faced the Phils back on Opening Day in March. The Phillies and Braves meet for a final time next week in Atlanta from September 17-19.

Phillies Lineup

1. Cesar Hernandez (2B)
2. J.T. Realmuto (C)
3. Bryce Harper (RF)
4. Rhys Hoskins (1B)
5. Jean Segura (SS)
6. Scott Kingery (3B)
7. Adam Haseley (CF)
8. Maikel Franco (3B)
9. Drew Smyly (P)

Braves Lineup

1. Ronald Acuna Jr. (CF)
2. Ozzie Albeis (2B)
3. Freddie Freeman (1B)
4. Josh Donaldson (3B)
5. Adam Duvall (LF)
6. Austin Riley (RF)
7. Brian McCann (C)
8. Dansby Swanson (SS)
9. Julio Teheran (P)

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Matchup

• Drew Smyly (4-6, 6.20 ERA) vs. Julio Teheran (10-8, 3.31 ERA)
• Smyly has only faced the Braves once in his career, for 0.2 innings back in 2013. He’s coming off of seven-inning scoreless outing against the Mets his last time out.
• Teheran is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA against the Phillies in his lone start against them on Opening Day. He’s 9-7 with a 3.71 ERA in 24 career games against the Phils and 6-3 with a 3.30 ERA in 10 starts at Citizens Bank Park.

Pregame Phillies Nuggets

• Phillies outfielder Corey Dickerson left Wednesday’s game after hitting a foul ball off of his foot. X-rays came back negative, but he underwent further testing on Thursday.
• Bryce Harper is hitting .419 with eight home runs and 19 RBIs in 43 at-bats in his career against Julio Teheran.
• Braves starter Julio Teheran is entering his 12th start of the second half. Since the All-Star Break, the Atlanta righty has posted a 5-2 record to go along with a 2.59 ERA and 1.181 WHIP.
• Coming into Thursday’s game, Atlanta has won 19 of their past 23 contests. They are just three games behind the Dodgers for best record in the National League.
• On Wednesday night, Major League Baseball set a new record for number of home runs hit in a season with the 6,106th, eclipsing the 2017 mark of 6,105. To put things in perspective, only 5,693 were hit in the year 2000.

Ticket IQ Programming Information

• 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, September 12 at Citizens Bank Park
• FOX
• SportsRadio 94 WIP

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