Phillies-Braves series: Three things to know about the NL East showdown with season-series tiebreaker
The Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves will begin a decisive four-game series on Thursday night that will help determine the National League East. The host Phillies enter Thursday’s contest with a five-game lead in the division. Anything less than a sweep or series win of the Braves would put them behind by as many as five with less than a month of the regular season remaining, greatly extending the Phillies’ dominance.
With such a big series coming up, we at CBS Sports thought we would cover some of the things you need to know before the first game of the series. First, let’s cover some important information about the Phillies-Braves series:
Now, let’s get to the things you need to know.
1. The Phillies are starting to correct their course
You may recall that the Phillies suffered some turmoil earlier this month. Although they are still below .500 since the beginning of July (23-26), they have shown signs of improvement recently. In fact, the Phillies will come into Thursday’s game having won four of their last five games, including series wins against the Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals – two potential World Series foes if the Phillies make it that far.
Star first baseman Bryce Harper has also begun to recover from the worst stretch of his career. That’s no exaggeration. He batted .149/.240/.358 in July, with his .598 OPS being the lowest of any month in his career in which he got 50 or more plate appearances. Harper’s OPS in August was .803; that’s not quite his usual par, but it’s pretty close compared to the numbers he posted around this time last month.
Despite the feud between Harper and the Phillies, their lead hasn’t eroded much. They entered August with a 6 1/2 game lead. We’ll see where things stand after this series, but it’s fair to write that they’re in good shape.
2. Braves in position to win tiebreaker
A notable subplot from this weekend’s set concerns the state of the postseason series. When Major League Baseball expanded the postseason, it eliminated tiebreaker games. That means there’s a greater emphasis than ever on winning head-to-head matches against your division foes, because that’s the first tiebreaker.
In this case, the Braves will enter Thursday having won six of nine games against the Phillies so far. This is the final regular-season series between the clubs, meaning the Phillies will need a sweep to claim that tiebreaker.
Will it matter? The final month of the season will answer that question. However, it’s something to keep in mind — especially if the Braves find a way to win the series and cut the Phillies’ division lead down to something more manageable.
3. No sales, but Schwellenbach is growing
This series will feature some of the best starters in baseball: Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Max Fried among them. The only big name not in this series is Chris Sale, who started on Wednesday. If it’s any consolation, Sunday’s series finale will feature the start of Spencer Schwellenbach, a promising up-and-coming prospect from Atlanta.
Schwellenbach, 24, made his sixth start this season with a 5.68 ERA. Since then, he has been absolutely dominant. In his nine most recent outings, he has a 2.60 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 55 innings, more than walks.
Sunday’s game will mark Schwellenbach’s third time facing the Phillies. He has recorded a perfect start in each of his first two attempts.
