Phillies at Braves
The Atlanta Braves (7-23) have the worst record in baseball - not a big surprise as they are in the middle of a major rebuilding process, but the worst start in franchise history comes with a eye-popping 1-15 record at Turner Field. Atlanta, which has lost four straight overall and 10 in a row at home, continues its six-game homestand with three beginning Tuesday against the surprisingly good Philadelphia Phillies.
"We’ve had a pretty good life around here for 25 years,” Braves vice chairman John Schuerholz told The USA Today. “But now we’re taking the slings and arrows of criticism. It’s like the great line in The Godfather: ‘This is the life we have chosen.’ You take the good and the glory with the bad and the inglorious.” Atlanta (.226) and Philadelphia (.227) own the worst batting averages in the majors while the Braves have hit a mind-boggling seven home runs - 16 fewer than anyone else entering Monday. The Phillies (18-14), who lost 99 games last season, are 3-4 on their 10-game road trip after taking two of three from Miami over the weekend - both one-run victories to improve to a major league-best 11-3 in such contests. The Braves' Matt Wisler is coming off his first victory of the season after allowing one hit in eight shutout innings versus the New York Mets and opposes Adam Morgan, who lost all three times he faced Atlanta during his rookie season of 2015.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, FSN Southeast (Atlanta)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies LH Adam Morgan (0-0, 6.00 ERA) vs. Braves RH Matt Wisler (1-2, 3.24)
Morgan allowed two hits in four shutout innings before getting pulled after allowing the first five batters to reach in St. Louis on Wednesday in his second start of the season. The 26-year-old Florida native escaped with a no-decision in Philadelphia's 5-4 loss and suffered the same fate when he permitted three runs and struck out seven in five innings of the Phillies' 4-3 victory over Cleveland on April 29. Morgan, a third-round draft pick in 2011, was 0-3 with a 4.00 ERA and 1.28 WHIP against Atlanta last season as Philadelphia scored only four runs in those games.
Wisler yielded a single in the fifth inning while walking two and hitting a batter during the Braves' 2-0 victory in New York on Tuesday, lowing his batting average against to .175. "He wills himself. This guy doesn't take anything for granted,'' Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez told reporters about the 23-year-old Ohio native. "... He's over in the training room (getting ready) for his next start, doing his exercises. For being a young guy, he's really got good work ethic. He pays attention to detail and he keeps getting better.'' Wisler allowed seven runs in 4 2/3 innings in his only start against the Phillies - a 12-2 loss during his rookie 2015 season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Philadelphia CF Odubel Herrera (team-best .324) is batting .369 with two home runs, five RBIs, 11 walks and 15 runs scored in 17 games since moving into the lead-off spot April 20 with the Phillies 12-5 in those contests.
2. Atlanta RF Nick Markakis went 3-for-5 in Sunday's 5-3 loss in 11 innings to Arizona, raising his team-high average to .294. Markakis also has a club-most 20 RBIs - 11 more than next-best Mallex Smith.
3. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Braves are the third team in major league history to lose at least 15 of their first 16 home games, joining the 1883 Philadelphia Phillies (1-15) and the 1913 New York Yankees (0-15-1).