Phillies play Atlanta, aim to build on Wheeler's strong performance
Philadelphia Phillies (17-15, first in the NL East) vs. Atlanta Braves (15-16, third in the NL East)
Atlanta; Friday, 7:20 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Phillies: Zach Eflin (1-1, 3.49 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 34 strikeouts) Braves: Charlie Morton (2-1, 5.08 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 39 strikeouts)
LINE: Braves -163, Phillies +144; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Philadelphia heads into the matchup fresh off a dominant performance by Zack Wheeler. Wheeler pitched nine innings, surrendering zero runs on three hits with eight strikeouts against Milwaukee.
The Braves are 8-8 against teams from the NL East. Atlanta has slugged .415, good for second in the National League. Ronald Acuna Jr. leads the club with a .685 slugging percentage, including 18 extra-base hits and 10 home runs.
The Phillies are 7-8 in division games. Philadelphia's team on-base percentage of .293 is last in the National League. Bryce Harper leads the lineup with an OBP of .434.
The Phillies won the last meeting 7-6. Jose Alvarado notched his second victory and Didi Gregorius went 1-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs for Philadelphia. Will Smith registered his second loss for Atlanta.
TOP PERFORMERS: Acuna Jr. leads the Braves with 35 hits and has 21 RBIs.
Rhys Hoskins leads the Phillies with eight home runs home runs and is slugging .508.
LAST 10 GAMES: Braves: 6-4, .261 batting average, 4.47 ERA, outscored opponents by four runs
Phillies: 6-4, .193 batting average, 3.73 ERA, outscored opponents by two runs
INJURIES: Braves: Touki Toussaint: (right shoulder), Mike Soroka: (achilles), Chris Martin: (fingers), Ender Inciarte: (hamstring), Guillermo Heredia: (right hamstring), Alex Jackson: (left hamstring), Travis d'Arnaud: (left thumb).
Phillies: JoJo Romero: (left elbow), Seranthony Dominguez: (elbow), Archie Bradley: (left oblique), Roman Quinn: (finger), Matt Joyce: (calf), Bryce Harper: (wrist), Ronald Torreyes: (undisclosed), Jean Segura: (right quad).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
