Preview Braves vs. Phillies: Atlanta hopes to even the series

After an ugly game on Friday night, the Braves hope to even the series against Philly.

The Phillies will field one of their two Cy Young candidates in Ranger Suarez. Suarez has been a consistently good starter for some time with his style of relatively few strikeouts and lots of ground balls, but this year he’s taken it up a level by getting his walk rate down to under 2 BB/9. His ERA is a spectacular 2.27, but his peripherals are just under 3, which is still very strong. He has a true mix of five pitches, including a sinker, four-seamer and cutter, along with a curveball and changeup. His curveball is probably his best pitch, but his mix is ​​pretty balanced in terms of the effectiveness of his various pitches. The Braves have had mixed success against the veteran left-hander during his time in Philly, but the Braves’ offense is at its worst and he’s been at his best since he became a starter with the Phillies.

Atlanta may have to rely on run prevention to win Saturday as their offense continues to struggle and they’re facing a really good pitcher. However, right-handed Ozzie will be a big advantage. Regardless, they’re hoping for a strong performance from their rookie Spencer Schwellenbach. The Braves’ sophomore Spencer has been pretty solid in his first year despite having extremely little experience as a pitcher, having primarily been a shortstop in college and only appearing as a reliever. His ERA is a subpar 5.68, but his more meaningful numbers are around 4, which is pretty good for a rookie with his profile and experience. Hopefully he can experience positive regression and continue to develop at the major league level. Spencer uses a pretty effective mix of six pitches, including four-seam, sinker and cutter variations of his fastball, a curveball and slider, and a relatively new splitter. His slider has a lot of depth for the speed he throws it, but his fastball can be pretty straight. It will be interesting to watch his continued development since he is still so young in his development as a pitcher.

Game Information

Date/time of the game: Saturday, July 6, 7:15 p.m. ET

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, Georgia

Streaming: FOX/MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM