Phillies at Braves
Ryan Howard is dealing with the struggles of an aging slugger who is past his prime, but the Philadelphia Phillies first baseman hopes Sunday’s two-hit performance signifies a turnaround. The Phillies open a three-game series Monday at the Atlanta Braves after Howard helped Philadelphia snap a five-game losing streak with a victory Sunday at Miami.
“This is the kind of game you want to build off of,” the 35-year-old Howard told reporters after driving in a pair of runs Sunday in just his third multi-hit game of the season. The Phillies are in last place in the National League East while the Braves are tied for second, 3 ½ games behind the Mets, after splitting a four-game weekend set with Cincinnati. Veteran reserve Kelly Johnson, who hit seven homers in 106 games last season, slugged his fifth homer in Sunday’s victory over the Reds. Atlanta finished 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position Sunday and is hitting .328 on the season, a far improvement over last season’s .236 mark.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, SportSouth (Atlanta)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Aaron Harang (2-2, 2.51 ERA) vs. Braves LH Alex Wood (1-1, 4.03)
Harang looks to put his worst start of the season behind him in his second outing in two weeks against Atlanta. He gave up five runs on nine hits in six innings to lose Wednesday at St. Louis, five days after firing eight shutout innings against the Braves. Harang, who went 12-12 for Atlanta last season, is holding right-handers to a .154 batting average and has allowed only one homer this season.
Wood gave up five hits in 5 2/3 scoreless innings against Harang and the Phillies on April 24, getting a no-decision. He struggled in a 13-4 loss to Washington on Wednesday, surrendering five runs on six hits with a season-high eight strikeouts. One season after posting a 3.78 strikeout-to-walk ratio, Wood has a 1.82 ratio through 29 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Phillies have dropped seven road series in a row and are 2-12-1 in their past 15 series away from home.
2. Atlanta’s bullpen posted a 4.64 ERA in April but has allowed only two runs on four hits with 14 strikeouts in nine innings through the first three games of May.
3. Philadelphia starting pitchers have just six wins through the team’s first 26 games.