Atlanta set for pivotal NL East matchups
♦ The Braves will travel to the Nationals and Phillies, looking to maintain their division lead.
The Atlanta Braves hit the road for a six-game road trip with the hopes of resuming their winning ways.
The Braves (60-43) went 2-4 on a homestand against the Washington Nationals and Kansas City Royals, seeing their leads in the NL East fall to 4½ games over Washington and 5½ over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Atlanta will see both teams on this road trip, which will begin Friday in Philadelphia.
Despite the recent slump, with losses in six of their last eight games, the majority of the Braves’ lineup has continued to hit. Over the last week, Freddie Freeman has hit .385 with five RBIS, with Ronald Acuña Jr. right behind at .375 with a homer, three RBIS and five stolen bases.
Exceptions to the recent success have been Dansby Swanson, who missed Wednesday’s game with a sore heel. He hit .238 with two RBIS over this week, while struggling rookie Austin Riley hit .200 with one RBI.
Philadelphia is 6-2 over its last eight games and comes into the series off a two-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers.
Bryce Harper leads the team with 70 RBIS, though he is hitting only .256 on the season with 17 home runs and 119 strikeouts. Rhys Hoskins is hitting .263 with 21 homers and 64 RBIS.
No other member of the Phillies’ roster has more than 46 RBIS on the season.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Braves All-star Mike Soroka (10-2, 2.46 ERA) will open the series looking to bounce back after suffering just his second loss of the season. Soroka pitched six innings, allowed four runs and nine hits in a 5-3 loss to the Nationals, his first loss since his initial start of the season. After struggling for overall success on their homestand, Ronald Acuña Jr. and the Braves will hit the road for six games against their two pursuers in the NL East — the Phillies and the Nationals.
Soroka is expected to face Jake Arrieta (8-7, 4.40). The veteran
right-hander is looking for his first win in nearly a month and has not figured into a decision since July 6, when he lost to the Mets. In his last appearance, he threw 5 2/3 innings, allowing one run on six hits in what became a 6-1 win over Pittsburgh.
Max Fried (10-4, 4.08) is scheduled to come off the injured list to start Saturday’s game. Fried went on the 10-day IL after suffering blister issues in his last start against Milwaukee. In that game, he threw five innings and allowed three hits to earn
the win in the Braves’ 4-2 victory.
Zach Elfin (7-10, 4.25) is expected to go for Philadelphia.
Sunday’s finale is set to see the Braves send Kevin Gausman (3-5, 5.71) to the mound against Aaron Nola (8-2, 3.64).
ON THE AIR
All three games of the series will be broadcast by Fox Sports South. Friday’s and Saturday’s games will begin at 7 p.m., with Sunday’s at 1 p.m. All three games can be heard on the radio in Rome at 1410 AM.