By Wednesday night, the Phillies could be 1⁄2 a game in first place in the NL East, they could be 4 1⁄2 back, or somewhere in between.
The Phils begin another three-game set with the Atlanta Braves tonight, the first of a three-game series against the team that’s ahead of them in the division. Atlanta enters with a 1 1⁄2 game lead over the Phillies, with tonight’s game an opportunity to draw back to within a half-game.
The Braves are coming off their best win of the season, a dramatic 10-9 win over the Miami Marlins in which they scored 6 runs in the bottom of the 9th for the victory. The Phils split a four-game series against the Cardinals in St. Louis and lost on Sunday 5-1.
Tonight, for the fourth time this season, Nick Pivetta will match up against Mike Foltynewicz, an oddity of scheduling that hasn’t been done for a long time.
Mike Foltynewicz faces Nick Pivetta tonight for the 4th time this year!@EliasSports reports it's the first time 2 starting pitchers faced each other 4 times in the first 46 games since (holy moly) 1959 (Robin Roberts vs. Lew Burdette).#longtimeago
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) May 21, 2018
In the previous three starts, Foltynewicz has pitched 17 innings and given up 4 runs on 12 hits with a 21/7 K/BB ratio and a 2.12 ERA against the Phillies. Pivetta, meanwhile, has struggled, going 14 innings and giving up 8 runs on 16 hits with an 11/5 K/BB ratio and a 5.14 ERA.
This is the lineup the Phillies will send up against Folty tonight...
This should be fun. #BeBold pic.twitter.com/oLQmgzvZSw
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 21, 2018
... while the Braves counter with this.
Road trip opens up tonight in Philly. #ChopOn
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 21, 2018
Game Preview: https://t.co/FPGNqaodUT pic.twitter.com/0EATzj62A6
First pitch is set for 7:05pm ET.
Listen to “Hittin’ Season’s” preview of the series right here, and become a Patreon member of the podcast to listen to the entire episode by going to www.patreon.com/hittinseason.