The Philadelphia Phillies play host to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night from Citizens Bank Park in the second game of their weekend series. The Braves have been surging towards the top of the NL East standings, while the Phillis haven't been doing anything but falling further and further behind of late. Heading into this week's series, the two teams had met seven-times on during the season, with little to separate the two. The Braves had won four and with Monday night's matchup going down to the wire as well, it's expected to be a similar story on Tuesday for the second game of the mid-week series.
The Braves might have started the season slowly but with summer rolling along, they find themselves quickly gaining ground on the Mets atop the division. The Phillies have the ability to make things interesting but considering their success against Philadelphia on the season, the Braves will be feeling good about their chances to grab the win on Tuesday and if nothing else, at least not move further behind in the divisional race. With a winning record on the road, being away from home won't be daunting at all for this group. Adding in a winning record in their last ten games, at 6-4, Atlanta knows that these are the types of games that they need to take advantage of if they want to improve their shot at being the divisional winner come the fall.
It's also helped that Atlanta has become healthier and healthier of late. Positionally, they do continue to be without Adam Duvall (wrist) and Ozzie Albies (foot), wh ile Robinson Cano (head) is questionable. The larger issue is having three relievers ruled out, thinning out their bullpen even more.
.@MoneyyyMikeee puts us on the board! ??#ForTheA pic.twitter.com/sf8s0m8nFm
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 25, 2022
According to MLB.com, SPencer Strider will take the mound for the Braves as he looked for the win. The righty has been impressive this season, coming into Tuesday night with a 4-3 record and 3.03 ERA. It's slightly concerning that he was shelled the last time out against the Nationals but was on a run prior to that, In the four starts before, he combined to allow only two runs across four starts, failing to allow multiple runs across any of those.
Offensively, the Braves are quickly rounding into the form that saw them become one of the most dangerous lineups in baseball around this time last year. They rank in the top five in baseball in runs scored per nine innings, OPS, and home runs per game, while ranking tenth in average. The only concern has come from their high strikeout rate, though it hasn't slowed them down yet. Dansby Swanson (.293 average) continues to set the tone, while Austin Riley (28 HRs, 63 RBI, .354 OBP) pro vides the power in the middle of the lineup. Over the last week, Riley is hitting over .500, while Michael Harris Jr. provides even more depth.