Braves at Phillies
After going 20 innings without scoring a run, the Atlanta Braves hope three runs in the seventh inning Saturday jump-starts their sputtering offense. The Braves wrap up a nine-game road trip with Sunday’s series finale at the Philadelphia Phillies, buoyed by Andrelton Simmons’ homer and run-scoring hits from Eric Young Jr. and Chris Johnson in the seventh of Saturday’s 5-2 victory.
The Braves are 3-5 on the road trip and snapped a four-game losing streak Saturday. The Phillies have dropped 10 of their past 13 games and even Ryan Howard’s typical terrorizing of Atlanta pitching could not help Saturday. Howard blasted his 48th career homer against the Braves in the fourth inning. Philadelphia has scored a major-league low 44 runs and has finished with two runs or fewer in its past seven defeats.
TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, FSN South (Atlanta), CSN Philadelphia
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Trevor Cahill (0-2, 9.95 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Jerome Williams (1-1, 3.71)
Cahill’s first two starts with the Braves have been rocky as he has given up eight runs (seven earned) on 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings against the Marlins and Mets. The 27-year-old has been pounded by right-handers for eight hits in 16 at-bats. Cahill is 2-4 with a 3.60 ERA in six career games (four starts) against Philadelphia.
Williams rebounded from a rough outing in a loss to the Mets to beat the Marlins on Tuesday, allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits with six strikeouts in six innings. Opponents are hitting .315 off Williams, who has surrendered 23 hits in 17 innings. Williams is 1-3 in eight career appearances (seven starts) against Atlanta with a 5.26 ERA, giving up four runs in six innings in a Sept. 26 start last season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Philadelphia closer Jonathan Papelbon, who was unavailable for Friday’s series opener due to an illness, did not pitch Saturday.
2. Atlanta C A.J. Pierzynski has recorded a hit in all nine games he has played in this season, lining a RBI single in the eighth Saturday.
3. Williams makes his fourth start of the season on the 12-year anniversary of his major-league debut (which came for San Francisco against the Phillies in 2003).