Series preview: vs Philadelphia Phillies
When (TV): 7:10 p.m. Monday (SPSO), 7:10 p.m. Tuesday (SPSO), 12:10 p.m. Wednesday (SPSO)
Radio: 680, 93.7, 106.7
Probable starting pitchers:
Monday: Braves RH Julio Teheran (6-4, 2.41 ERA) vs. LH Cole Hamels (2-3, 3.07 ERA)
Tuesday: Braves RH Ervin Santana (5-3, 4.09) vs. RH Kyle Kendrick (2-6, 4.09)
Wednesday: Braves RH Aaron Harang (5-5, 3.20) vs. RH Roberto Hernandez (2-5, 4.26)
About the Braves:
Batting: Evan Gattis went 3-for-5 Saturday night to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games, the longest active streak in the National League. He has hit seven home runs over the streak. Gattis homered twice the last time he faced Hamels Sept. 8, including one that traveled 486 feet, the longest ever hit at Citizens Bank Park. Tommy La Stella has hit safely in 12 of his 15 major league games, while batting .377 (20-for-53) over that span. Entering Sunday, Andrelton Simmons was hitting .400 (16-for-40) with one home run on the season against left-handers.
Pitching: Teheran pitched a three-hit shutout to beat Cliff Lee 1-0 the last time he faced the Phillies on April 16, the first of his two shutouts this season and first two of his career. Teheran gave up a career-high seven earned runs on 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings his last time out in Colorado to break up his four-game winning streak but said the Rockies found some holes and wasn't overly concerned with the quality of his pitches. The Braves are 10-4 in Teheran's starts this season.
Miscellaneous: The Braves are 15-9 in NL East, including 2-1 against the Phillies. This is only their second meeting with the Phillies this season and first since taking two of three at Citizens Bank Park on April 14-17. They'll play the Phillies seven times in the next 13 games, including a four-game series in Philadelphia with a June 28 doubleheader to make up a rainout.
About the Phillies:
Batting: The Phillies were shut out in a 3-0 loss Sunday by the Cubs, their seventh shutout loss at the hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park already this season. The Phillies are ranked 24th in the majors in runs, 24th in batting average (.242) and 25th in on-base percentage (.307). Jimmy Rollins singled in the fifth inning Saturday to pass Mike Schmidt as the Phillies' all-time hits leader, with his 2,235th career hit. Now that he reached the milestone he said he's open to waiving his 10-and-5 no-trade rights if the Phillies decide to rebuild.
Pitching: The Phillies are struggling but Hamels is still Hamels. He's 1-0 with a 0.40 ERA in three starts during the month of June, holding opponents to a .210 batting average, walking seven and striking out 26. This is his first start against the Braves this year. He won both his starts against them in 2013, allowing only three earned runs in 17 innings (1.59 ERA) including the memorable home runs by Gattis. Justin Upton is 7-for-23 (.304) with a double and a homer off Hamels. B.J. Upton is 0-for-11 off him.
Miscellaneous: The last-place Phillies have the third highest payroll in the majors at $180 million but are tied for the third-fewest wins (29) in the majors with the Diamondbacks and Padres. Cliff Lee is still on the disabled list with a left elbow strain. He has just begun playing catch again.
- Carroll Rogers
