Braves at Phillies
Baseball’s unbalanced schedule places an even higher importance on playing well within one’s division, and the Atlanta Braves are off to a good start again versus their National League East rivals. The Braves play the second of four games at Philadelphia on Tuesday after winning a wild 9-6 series opener a day earlier to improve to 7-3 against East teams, one season after going an NL-best 47-29 en route to the division title. The Phillies turn to Cliff Lee with hopes that the veteran can spell a bullpen that allowed seven runs on five hits with two walks in the final two innings Monday.
Lee has a history of strong work against the Atlanta lineup: several Braves have struggled lifetime against Lee, including Dan Uggla (.189), Andrelton Simmons (.188) and Jason Heyward (.136). Atlanta brings a four-game winning streak into the contest, with all of the triumphs coming against division competition, and looks for David Hale to rebound from a difficult outing in his last start. Neither team used its closer Monday, the Phillies turning to Jake Diekman instead of Jonathan Papelbon and Atlanta using David Carpenter instead of Craig Kimbrel.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MLBN, SportSouth (Atlanta), CSN (Philadelphia)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH David Hale (0-0, 2.89 ERA) vs. Phillies LH Cliff Lee (2-1, 5.50)
Hale impressed with five scoreless innings against Washington in his first start but worked 4 1/3 shaky innings in his fourth career outing Thursday against the New York Mets, surrendering four runs - three earned - on five hits with five walks. He beat Philadelphia in his second and final start of 2013, holding the Phillies to one run on seven hits in six frames on Sept. 26. Hale’s time in Atlanta's rotation could be nearing an end as Mike Minor continues rehabbing in the minor leagues.
Lee returned to form in his last two starts after opening the season by allowing eight earned runs in five innings. The veteran scattered 10 hits over seven scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs on April 5 to pick up the victory, then took the loss Thursday against Milwaukee despite yielding three runs with eight strikeouts in six frames. The 35-year-old went 3-2 against Atlanta last season and is 7-6 lifetime with a 2.80 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 99 2/3 innings versus the Braves.
WALK-OFFS
1. Minor worked five scoreless innings for Single-A Rome on Sunday. Barring any setbacks, he may need only one or two more rehab appearances before rejoining the Braves’ rotation.
2. Phillies 1B Ryan Howard hit his 44th homer in his 139th career game against Atlanta on Monday.
3. Philadelphia 2B Chase Utley extended his hitting streak to 11 games Monday, while Atlanta 1B Freddie Freeman saw his run end at nine games.