The Philadelphia Phillies will look to continue their offensive renewal when they meet the Atlanta Braves on Saturday in the second game of their three-game road series.
Philadelphia scored only one run over the previous three games when it was swept by the Houston Astros. The Phillies emerged from the slumber on Friday by scoring a season high number of runs in a 13-0 victory.
Meanwhile the Atlanta offense continues to struggle. The Braves have been blanked the past two games and have lost three in a row. The exception is first baseman Matt Olson, who went 1-for-5 on Friday to extend his streak of reaching base to a major-league best 28 consecutive games, the longest by a Braves player since Freddie Freeman had a 33-game streak in 2020.
Philadelphia holds a 4-3 lead in the season series and a half-game lead over the New York Mets in the National League East. Atlanta is seven games under .500 and 10 1/2 back of the Phillies.
Philadelphia shortstop Trea Turner led Friday’s 17-hit attack by going 4-for-6 with a pair of home runs, with catcher J.T. Realmuto going 3-for-4. Each Philadelphia starting position player picked up at least one hit.
The scheduled starting pitchers for Saturday are Philadelphia lefty Jesus Luzardo (7-3, 4.08 ERA) vs. Atlanta right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach (6-4, 3.21).
Luzardo threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the New York Mets in his most recent start last Sunday. Luzardo allowed three hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in the 7-1 win. It was his second scoreless stint in 16 starts this season.
And NL East games seem to motivate him.
“Ideally you like to have the same juice for every start, but I’d be lying if I said that in starts like this you don’t bring a little extra knowing what’s on the line,” Luzardo said.
“He was really good,” manager Rob Thomson said after the game. “He’s got really good stuff. He’s a competitor and he’s going to get after it.”
Luzardo is 3-3 with a 3.89 ERA in eight career starts against the Braves, with 53 strikeouts in 41 2/3 innings. He received no decision when he faced Atlanta on April 10, when he allowed one run on six hits, one walk and six strikeouts in six innings in the 4-2, 11-inning loss.
Schwellenbach brings a three-game winning streak into the game. In his outing on Monday against the New York Mets, he worked seven innings and gave up two runs on four hits, one walk and four strikeouts and earned the 3-2 win.
Over his past nine starts, Schwellenbach is 5-1 with a 2.74 ERA. During that stretch he has pitched at least six innings in each outing, including a complete-game 6-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on June 11.
“Nothing surprises me with him anymore,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “You know it’s not a small sample anymore. You come to expect it and I think he expects it. He’s just so focused.”
“Every time I’ve seen him pitch, I feel he’s continued to do an amazing job,” Atlanta right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. said.
Schwellenbach has made four career starts against the Phillies, going 2-0 with a 2.22 ERA. He got the start against Luzardo on April 10 and pitched six innings and allowed only one run but did not receive a decision in the Atlanta win.
–Field Level Media
