Brandon McCarthy makes his Braves debut against Vince Velasquez, Phillies

The Braves and Phillies dueled deep into the night yesterday in what ended up being a 5-4 Philadelphia victory after 11 long innings. The win for the Phils knots the opening series at 1-1 with the deciding game coming up later today.

For the home standing Braves Brandon McCarthy will make his regular season pitching debut after coming over in trade from the Los Angeles Dodgers this winter. McCarthy put together a fine 2017 season compiling 2.4 WAR, which would have ranked first among Braves pitchers, to go along with 72 strikeouts in 92.2 innings. The 34-year-old McCarthy is in the final year of his contract and is looking to get started on the right track.

Philadelphia will send out Vince Velasquez who is entering his 3rd full season of Major League ball after coming over to the Phillies by way of trade with Houston. Velasquez has been labeled as injury-prone to begin his career with Philadelphia and only saw 72 innings of action last season for the Phils collecting 0.1 WAR.

After winning the first game in dramatic fashion the Braves have to feel robbed of the win last night. They will look to outright win the series today before a quick off day tomorrow on Easter Sunday. Stay tuned.

Game Info:

Time/Date: Saturday, March 31, 7:10 PM EST

Venue: SunTrust Park - Atlanta, Georgia

TV: Fox Sports Southeast

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 the Fan (WCNN AM) or 106.7 (WYAY FM) on the Braves Radio Network