The Phillies have their best roster ready for the series against the Braves appeared first on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The Phillies fly to Atlanta on Sunday night after a six-game home series and are scheduled to have their top two pitchers on the mound to start the series, but it appears the Braves’ Cy Young Award frontrunner will again be absent.
Zack Wheeler will start the series opener on Tuesday, Aaron Nola will pitch on Wednesday, and while the start on Thursday is still to be determined, it is expected to be left-hander Christopher Sanchez, who threw a complete game, 99 pitches, on Saturday and is looking normal for the weekend.
The gap between the Phillies and Atlanta will likely be at least seven games at the start of the series. The Braves have been plagued by injuries and haven’t been consistent since late April. With the Mets on their tail since late July, the Phillies are struggling a lot right now.
The Phillies are unlikely to see Braves ace Chris Sale, the leading National League Cy Young Award candidate with a 14-3 record and a 2.62 ERA. He leads the majors in wins and strikeouts and leads the National League in ERA. Because Sale pitched Saturday, he will be on regular rest for Thursday’s series finale, but the Braves are likely to start Reinaldo Lopez on Tuesday, Max Fried on Wednesday and rookie Spencer Schwellenbach on Thursday instead.
Lopez, who made his All-Star debut, will return after spending three weeks on the disabled list with forearm inflammation. He has a 2.06 ERA in 19 games, but is likely to only pitch about four innings in his return.
Fried missed nearly the same amount of time with a forearm injury and returned on Aug. 4 but was far from his best, giving up 13 runs and allowing 27 baserunners in 13 2/3 innings over three starts.
Schwellenbach continues the annual summer trend of Braves young players bursting into the spotlight, striking out 10.1 batters and walking just 1.7 per nine innings in 13 starts. In his last seven starts, he has a 2.86 ERA with 53 strikeouts and five walks.
The Braves have two offensive weapons they didn’t have in their last matchup, July 5-7 in Atlanta. Michael Harris II is back from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for two months. Jorge Soler has been a top of the lineup since being acquired at the trade deadline, but he’s missed the last few games with a hamstring injury and his status this week is unclear.
The Phillies should also feature Whit Merrifield, who is filling in for the injured Ozzie Albies at second base.
The Braves are primarily right-handed pitchers, with only left-handed threats in Harris and Matt Olson, who has had a tough year, so it makes it easier for the Phillies to match up against them, especially late in games, with right-handed power hitters in Jeff Hoffman, Orion Kerkering and Carlos Estevez.
First, Atlanta will have to deal with the pitching of Wheeler, who was 6-2 with a 2.16 ERA in 14 regular-season games against the Braves with the Phillies.
There are so many high expectations for Wheeler, and he has quietly had his best season with the Phillies. His ERA is 2.72, better than his previous four-year average of 3.06. His WHIP is 0.98, better than his previous four-year average of 1.06. His opponents’ batting average is .193, 32 points lower than his previous four-year average.
He’s exactly the kind of player you want on the mound at the start of the series, and he’s expected to make two starts on the road.
