Braves at Reds
The Cincinnati Reds will try to bounce back from a difficult end to their road trip when they welcome old friend Brandon Phillips and the Atlanta Braves to town for the opener of a three-game series Friday night. After opening with three wins in their first four contests on the trip, the Reds dropped three straight in Toronto - capped by Wednesday's 5-4 defeat - to fall to 3-10 in their last 13 away games.
Cincinnati is 8-4 over its previous 12 at Great American Ball Park, however, and there should be a festive atmosphere for the return of Phillips, who was a three-time All-Star in his 11 seasons with the Reds before being traded to the Braves in February. "It will be pretty fun," Phillips recently told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution of his return to Cincinnati, where he ranks seventh in games played (1,614) and ninth in hits (1,774). The veteran second baseman was 0-for-4 and his teammates managed only six hits in a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday, dropping the Braves to 2-4 on their nine-game road trip. Atlanta has won seven straight series openers, including four in a row on the road.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FSN South (Atlanta), FSN Ohio (Cincinnati)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Mike Foltynewicz (3-5, 4.44 ERA) vs. Reds RH Bronson Arroyo (3-4, 6.62)
Foltynewicz gave up five runs on seven hits - including two homers - in four innings of a loss at San Francisco on Saturday, which left him with an ERA of 6.12 in May after he posted a 2.81 mark in April. Previously, the Illinois native gave up two or fewer earned runs in his first five road starts. Foltynewicz is 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA in two career starts against Cincinnati, but Reds slugger Joey Votto is 2-for-3 with three walks against him.
Arroyo lasted at least five innings in all five of his May starts but he got through six just once and served up 12 home runs, including seven over the last two outings. The Philadelphia Phillies took the 40-year-old deep three times - all solo shots - in five frames on Saturday, when Arroyo was given a no-decision in a 4-3 loss. Outfielder Matt Kemp (12-for-28, two homers) has feasted on Arroyo, who has a 5.14 ERA in 18 career matchups (17 starts) with the Braves.
WALK-OFFS
1. Kemp has homered in consecutive games and hit safely in eight of his last nine to raise his average to .345.
2. Votto is batting .326 with a 1.151 OPS at home.
3. Braves C Tyler Flowers is 12-for-30 with a pair of homers over an eight-game span.