MLB Preview: Atlanta Braves (47-26) at Philadelphia Phillies (38-35)

ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:

JUNE: Atlanta’s win Tuesday night moved the club to 14-3 (.823) in the month of June, the best record in baseball. The Braves are on pace for 21 wins this month. The Atlanta-era record for wins in a calendar month is 21, done four times previously and most recently in June of last year. The Braves also won 21 games in June of 2002, May of 1998 and August of 1999. The Atlanta-era record for winning percentage in a calendar month is .808, set by the 2002 team with a 21-5 record that June. The Braves’ current winning percentage this month is .823.

TODAY’S GAME: The Braves and Phillies today conclude a two-game series with what is the sixth of 13 scheduled meetings between the clubs this season… Atlanta and Philadelphia next meet from September 11-13, here again at Citizens Bank Park.

• The Braves and Phillies were rained out last night, and will now play a split-admission doubleheader on September 11 here in Philadelphia.
• Atlanta went 11-8 against Philadelphia last season to win the season set, and has won the season series with the Phillies in each of the last two years…The Braves went 10-9 against the Phillies in 2021, and have now won the season set with Philadelphia in consecutive years for the first time since a five-year run, 2012-2016.
• The Braves and Phillies met in the 2022 postseason, with Philadelphia winning the NLDS, three-games-to-one, to eliminate the defending World Series champions…Philadelphia outscored Atlanta, 24-13, in the series.
• Atlanta and Philadelphia have played 177 games here at Citizens Bank Park since the facility opened in 2004, with the Braves going 84-93 (.475)…The Braves have not had a winning record for the season in this ballpark since going 5-4 over nine games in 2016.
• RH Bryce Elder has never faced Philadelphia, the only N.L. East team against which he has never pitched…For reference, he has made six career starts against Miami, and four versus Washington… In 14 starts for Atlanta this season, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Texan is 5-1 with a 2.60 ERA (24 ER/83.0 IP), the second-lowest ERA in the N.L.
• RH Aaron Nola has faced Atlanta more than any other team in baseball, pitching against the Braves 31 times over his nine-year career…The 6-foot-2, 200-pound native of Baton Rouge, LA, is 15-10 with a 3.51 ERA (76 ER/194.2 IP) in his career versus Atlanta, but has compiled a 4.45 ERA (58 ER/117.1 IP) in 19 games against the Braves since the start of 2019.

WIN: Atlanta scored four runs over its last four times at-bat Tuesday night, beating the Phillies, 4-2…The Braves moved to a season-best 21 games over .500 with the win.

• The Braves improved to 18-6 (.750) against divisional opponents on the season.
• The Braves are a majors-best 23-11 (.676) on the road this season, and their 23 wins away from home are tied with the Orioles for most in baseball… Atlanta is 9-2-0 in series play away from Truist Park this year.
• Austin Riley and Matt Olson each clubbed solo home runs for Atlanta on Tuesday, and the Braves have hit multiple home runs in four straight games…That matches Atlanta’s longest such streak this season…The Braves have not had multiple homers in five straight since doing so twice last year (June 11-15, July 12-16).

VERSUS NOLA: Aaron Nola has surrendered home runs to 109 different batters in his career, but just four have taken him deep four or more times…Three of those four play for Atlanta.

• Ronald Acuña Jr. and Marcell Ozuna have hit four homers off of Nola, while Austin Riley has done so five times…Riley’s five homers are tied with Pete Alonso for the most off Nola in his career.
• Six of the nine batters in Atlanta’s lineup today have homered off of Nola, with only Ozzie Albies, Orlando Arcia and Eddie Rosario failing to do so.
• In his last 19 starts against Atlanta, dating to the start of the 2019 season, Braves batters are hitting .242/.302/.456 against him, with a .758 OPS…For reference, in 106 games against all other teams in that span, opponents are batting .224/.280/.369 with a .649 OPS.

EDDIE ROSARIO: Came off the bench Tuesday night and went 2-for-2 with a double and a run scored, and is batting .362/.422/.845 in the month of June…He has eight homers this month, most in the National League and one behind the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani for tops in baseball.

• He has homered in each of his last four starts, dating to the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader at Detroit…It is the longest such streak of his career and the longest active streak across MLB.
• Rosario is the 11th player and second Brave with a home run streak of at least four games this season… Ronald Acuña Jr. also homered in four straight, May 14-17.

A.J. MINTER: Pitched a scoreless seventh inning Tuesday night to earn his fifth hold of the season… Minter’s 36 appearances on the season are tied with Colorado’s Jake Bird for most in the majors.

• Minter has compiled five straight scoreless appearances and in his last 12 games dating to May 27, he has a 0.84 ERA (1 ER/10.2 IP) and has allowed just three baserunners (two hits, one walk).
• His 0.84 ERA in that span is lowest by a lefty reliever in the National League (min. 10.0 IP).

OFFENSE: Atlanta scored just four runs but tallied 10 hits on Tuesday, and has combined to score 60 runs and collect 80 hits in its last seven games…The Braves have won all seven… Atlanta’s 60 runs are its most through a seven-game span since September 4-10, 2020, when it scored 63 times.

• The Braves’ .920 OPS in the month of June is best in baseball, and Atlanta leads the majors in average (.312), on-base (.375), slugging (.544), home runs (36), runs (117) and runs per game (6.88) for the month.
• Atlanta as a club has combined to produce a majors-best wRC+ of 145 for the month of June, meaning the team as a whole is producing 45 percent above league average this month.

Tonight’s Starting Pitcher – #55 Bryce Elder RHP
2023 Record: 5-1, 2.60 ERA • 2022 Record: 2-4, 3.17 ERA
vs. RHB: .239 (39-163), 3 HR • vs. LHB: .235 (34-145), 5 HR
Home: 2-1, 3.10 ERA (18 ER/52.1 IP) • Away: 3-0, 1.76 ERA (6 ER/30.2 IP)

Tonight’s Game

• Set to make his first career start against Philadelphia and 15th on the season.
• Will make his first career appearance against Philadelphia.
• Enters play with 19 consecutive outings of at least 5.0 innings pitched.
• Scattered four hits and a solo home run over 6.0 innings of one-run ball while earning his fifth win on the year against Colorado during in his last start.
• His 2.60 ERA on the season is the second lowest in the NL among qualifiers.
• Fifth lowest in the majors.
• No Braves pitcher was won the ERA title since Greg Maddux (2.22) in 1998.
• Elder’s 4.89 ERA with ROB is the third lowest in the NL among qualifiers.
• Opponents are hitting .205 against him with runners on base, the second lowest rate in the National League (among QS).
• His 45.1 LOB% is the sixth lowest in the National League (among QS).
• The average launch angle of balls put in play against Elder is 6.10; seventh lowest in the majors and fourth in the NL.
• His groundball rate of 56.9% of balls put in play is the fifth highest in the majors among qualified starters.
• Has recorded an out on 64.4% of those grounders put in play, also the fifth rate in baseball among qualifiers.
• Elder is pitching to a 1.69 ERA while holding opponents to a .213/.263/.324 line the first two times through the lineup.
• Conversely, owns a 6.86 ERA and hitters have a line of .312/.384/.494 the third time through the order.
• Is 6-2 with a 2.33 ERA over his last 19 games started after being recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett for the second time, dating to August 14, 2022.
• His 2.33 ERA is the second lowest among pitchers with at least 15 starts during that span.
• In that stretch, Elder is averaging 6.0 innings pitched per outing, tied for the third highest rate in the National League (min. 15 starts).
• He has five starts in his career of at least 6.0 innings without allowing a run, the most such games in Atlanta franchise history (since 1966) in a player’s first 15 starts…Larry McWilliams (’78) and Ian Anderson (’20-21) both had four such starts.

2023 Recap

• After his outing on May 30, Elder has 15 games of at least 5.1 innings pitched in 20 career starts; tied for second most in Atlanta franchise history through as many games started…Tommy Hanson has the most with 16 through 20 career starts.
• Elder’s 2.30 ERA through 20 career starts is the lowest in Atlanta franchise history to begin a career.
• His 117.1 innings pitched through his first 20 games started were the most by an Atlanta player to begin their career since Julio Teheran in 2011-13.
• His 30 earned runs allwed are also the fewest during that span.
• Elder has held opponents to one run or less in eight games this season while pitching at least 5.0 frames in every outing.
• His 11 appearances of at least 5.0 innings pitched while holding opponents to one run or less are the most through a player’s first 21 outings in Atlanta franchise history.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:

GAME #73 RECAP: In their first game back in Philly after a 6-1 road trip, the Phillies fell to the Atlanta Braves, 4-2, as they opened a five game homestand … Starter Ranger Suarez (ND) went 6.0 innings and allowed 1 run on 4 hits with 2 walks and 7 strikeouts … The Phillies had the tying run at the plate in the 9th with two outs but failed to score.

GO NOLES: Aaron Nola has gone at least 6.0 innings in each of his last 12 starts (since 4/16, 79.1 IP total) and overall in 13 of his 15 starts this season … Nola’s current 6.0 inning streak is the longest active streak in the majors (next: Stroman, 7 G) and is tied for the second-longest of his career, shy of only a 14- game streak last season (5/26-8/13/22) … Among NL starters, Nola ranks 5th in innings pitched this season at 94.2 (most: Stroman, 98.2) – since 2018, Nola ranks 2nd among MLB starters in innings at 966.1 and trails only Gerrit Cole (966.2), who has recorded one more out than Nola in that span entering play today … Since the start of last season, Nola leads the National League in fWAR among pitchers at 8.0 and ranks 2nd in MLB behind only Kevin Gausman (8.8) … In 16 career starts against the Braves at Citizens Bank Park (since 8/1/15), Nola is 11-3 with a 2.89 ERA (34 ER, 106.0 IP) – the Phillies are 12-4 in those 16 starts (.750 win %) … Nola faced ATL once last postseason in NLDS Game 3 (at CBP) – he went 6.0 innings and allowed 1 unearned run in a 9-1 Phillies win … In Nola’s last two starts against ATL at CBP (9/23/22 & 10/14/22 (NLDS G3), the Phils have won both games 9-1, outscoring ATL 18-2.

THE VIBES ARE BACK: This season, the Phillies were seven games under .500 at 25-32 when they entered play on June 3, which was also the one-year anniversary of Rob Thomson’s first game as Phillies manager … Since then, they have gone 13-3 in 16 games with a +31-run differential (85-54) and sit three games over .500 at 38-35 … When Thomson took over last year on June 3, the Phillies were also seven games under .500 at 22-29, and in their first 16 games with him as manager (6/3-18/22), they went 14-2 with a +41-run differential (99-58) … Since Thomson was hired on June 3, 2022, the Phillies are 103-81 and their .560 winning percentage is 3rd-best in the National League, behind only ATL (.672) and LAD (.638) and 8th-best in MLB.

I’M GIVING IT MY ALL: The Phillies have won five straight series (since 6/3/23: 2-1 at WSH, 3-0 vs DET, 2-1 vs LAD, 3-1 at ARI, 3-0 at OAK) for the first time since June 3-19, 2022 (Thomson’s first 5 series as manager) … Over the last three seasons (2021-23), the Phillies are 44-25 in the month of June and their .638 winning percentage ranks 3rd among all MLB clubs behind only ATL (.667) and BOS (.662) … Over the last two seasons (since 2022), the Phillies are 32-13 in June and their .711 winning % ranks 2nd in MLB, trailing only ATL (.795).

BEDLAM AT THE BANK: The Phils are 19-12 in 31 games at Citizens Bank Park this year and their .613 winning percentage at home is 2nd in the National League and 5th in MLB, trailing only TB (.800),TEX (.649), BAL (.629) and ATL (.615) … Philadelphia’s 19-11 start was tied for the fourth-best start through 30 games in Philadelphia’s 20 seasons at CBP (best: 20-10 in 2001, 2011 & 2019) … Through 31 games at CBP, the Phillies are averaging 39,181 in attendance per game which ranks 5th among all clubs in MLB behind only the Dodgers (48,025), Yankees (40,426), Cardinals (40,324) and Padres (39,730) … Of Philadelphia’s first 31 games at home, 16 have been sellouts (52%) and 22 have been over 35,000 (71%) … Among all clubs in MLB, the Phillies have the largest year-to-year increase in attendance per game this season at +11,178 (up from 28,003 per game through 31 home games in 2022).

TICKET OFFER: All fans who held tickets to last night’s originally scheduled 6/21 game at 6:40p.m. will receive an email with information regarding a complimentary ticket offer to select remaining 2023 home games … Any fan who purchased a ticket directly through the Phillies or through SeatGeek will be included in this offer.

STAFF NOTES: Over the last 16 games, the Phillies are 13-3, thanks in part to a starting staff that has combined to post a 1.72 ERA (18 ER, 94.0 IP) with 100 strikeouts to 24 walks and only four home runs allowed … The rotation has faced 365 batters in this stretch and limited them to a .182 AVG and .515 OPS … Phillies starters have gone at least 7.0 innings in six of those 16 games and at least 6.0 innings in 12 of 16 … Philadelphia’s 1.72 ERA is their lowest in a 16-game span since a 1.63 ERA, May 5-23, 2018 … The Phils rotation leads MLB in fWAR this season at 8.5 (next: MIN, 8.1).

SCHWARBERFEST IS ON: Since being inserted back into the leadoff spot on June 2 at WSH, Kyle Schwarber is slashing .279/.395/.647 in 81 plate appearances and has raised his season OPS .89 points from .699 on June 1 to .788 entering play today … In this span, he has 10 extra-base hits (2 2B, 3B, 7 HR), four leadoff home runs, 13 walks to 20 strikeouts and has scored 15 runs as the Phillies have gone 13-4 in those 17 games (.765 win %) … Schwaber has hit 11 regular season leadoff home runs since joining the Phillies – they are 9-2 in those games and have won each of the last six (since 10/1/22 at WSH, gm 2) … Winner of each of the last two NL Player of the Month Awards in June (2021 with WSH, 2022 with Phils), Schwarber has 35 home runs (75 total hits, 47%) and is slashing .273/.375/.691 in 72 games (323 PA) over the past three months of June combined (1.066 OPS) while averaging a home run every 7.86 at bats.

AFTERNOON DELIGHT: During the day at CBP this year, the Phillies are 11-3 and have won nine of their last 10 games (since 4/22) with their only loss in that span coming on June 10 against the Dodgers … Philadelphia’s .786 winning percentage at home during the day leads the NL and ranks T-3rd among all clubs in MLB (with NYY), trailing only TEX (.917, 11-1) and TB (.800, 16-4) … The Phillies have posted a .749 OPS in 505 plate appearances during the day at home this season and are averaging 4.5 runs per game (63 R) … Philadelphia’s pitching has combined to post a 2.86 ERA (41 ER, 129.0 IP) in those 14 games.

TODAY’S STARTER – AARON NOLA  RHP #27
2023: 6-5, 4.66 ERA Career: 84-67, 3.68 ERA

LAST START: 6/15 at ARI: W, 6.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO, 1
HR (104 p, 72 s) … Nola vs R. Nelson … The Phillies won their 1st series in Phoenix since 2016 with a 5-4 victory … The Phils lost their 3- 0 lead in the 3rd when the D’backs plated 4 runs off Nola … The Phillies retook the lead in the 4th and held the 1-run lead over the final 6.0 innings … Nola went 6.0 innings for the 12th straight start and allowed a HR for his 11th straight outing … Recorded 17 swings and misses.

TODAY’S START:
Bravo!: Including the regular and postseason, Nola has a career record of 12-3 with a 2.73 ERA (34 ER, 112.0 IP) in 17 starts against Atlanta at Citizens Bank Park … Nola has 11 quality starts and has posted 1.06 WHIP in that span … The Phils are 13-4 (.765) in those games and have won both of the last 2 meetings and 4 of the last 5

Home Body: Nola has a 2.59 ERA (18 ER, 62.2 IP) with 16 BB, 75 SO and has held opponents to a .201/.257/.330 slash line over his last 10 home starts (since 8/25/22) … Philadelphia has gone 8-2 (.800) in those games and has won 4 of the last 5

Gone Streaking: Nola enters tonight’s start against ATL having worked 6.0 or more innings in each of his last 12 starts which is the longest active streak in the majors (it’s also the longest streak overall in 2023) … In Nola’s last 12 starts (7-5 team record), he has gone 6-3, 4.20 ERA (37 ER, 79.1 IP) with 21 BB and 78 SO … For his career, Nola’s longest streak of 6.0+ inning starts is 14, set last season

2023 SEASON:
2023 NL Ranks: IP (5th; 94.2), opp. OBP (4th; .276), BABIP (5th; .263), WHIP (7th, 1.10), hits/9.0 IP (11th; 7.61), AVG (11th, .227), SO (T-11th; 93)

Innings Eater: Since the start of the 2018 season, Nola’s 966.1 innings pitched are 2nd most in the majors (G. Cole – 966.2) … This season, Nola is 3rd among NL pitchers in IP (94.2; 7th in MLB) and has gone at least 6.0 IP in 13 of his 15 starts in 2023 (87%) … Only CHI’s Marcus Stroman has more 6.0+ inning starts in 2023 (14) than Nola … Nola has gone 7.0 or more innings 5 times in 2023 … Among all NL pitchers, only SF’s Logan Webb (8), LAD’s Clayton Kershaw and SF’s Alex Cobb (6)
have done so more times than Nola this year

Philly Value: Since 2018, Nola is the only pitcher in baseball to accrue more than 20.0 fWAR (23.2) and pitch for only one team … In that span, he ranks 5th overall in fWAR behind only Jacob deGrom (27.1), Max Scherzer (26.5), Gerrit Cole (25.4) and Zack Wheeler (25.2) … His 31.6 fWAR as a Phillie is 7th most in franchise history trailing Curt Simmons (33.5) for 6th place  Additionally, since the start of the 2022 season, Nola’s 8.0 fWAR is the best among all NL starters with ARI’s Zac Gallen (7.6) and MIA’s Sandy Alcantara (7.4) trailing

Phils’ Ranks: Recorded the 29th double-digit SO game of his career and 2nd of 2023 on 6/5 vs DET … Is now tied with Cole Hamels (29) for the 3rd most in club history (Curt Schilling is 2nd with 48)

Recorded his 1,400th career strikeout on 4/21 vs COL, the 5thyoungest to reach the mark among the 20 active pitchers to do so at the time

Made his 6th straight Opening Day start, extending his MLB-best active streak of Opening Day starts … Was the 1st pitcher in MLB to make 6 straight Opening Day starts since Julio Teheran in made his 6th consecutive for ATL in 2019, and joins Robin Roberts (12) & Steve Carlton (10) as the only Phillies to do so

vs NL East: 36-35, 3.55 ERA (253 ER, 640.2 IP) in 106 starts

Pitch Usage: Curveball (30.8%), 4-seam fastball (28.6%), sinker (17.2%), Changeup (13.1%), cutter (10.3%)

HOME:
2023: 3-2, 3.92 ERA (17 ER, 39.0 IP) in 6 starts

Career: 47-26, 3.23 ERA (239 ER, 666.2 IP) in 107 starts