Friday’s series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies did not go according to plan for the Atlanta Braves, with Julio Teheran exiting as a result of injury and an unfavorable result on the scoreboard. On the bright side, baseball affords the opportunity for a quick bounce-back on Saturday evening and the Braves will send Mike Foltynewicz to the hill with an eye on a series-evening victory.
Foltynewicz sports a 2.77 ERA on the season, indicating from a birds-eye view that he has performed well through five starts. However, the powerful right-hander has navigated only 26 total innings in those outings and, in his last start, Foltynewicz was forced to the dugout after only 4.2 innings of control-challenged performance. On the whole, his FIP (3.75) and xFIP (3.68) aren’t brutal by any means but an elevated walk rate (11.7 percent) is slightly worrisome and it will be interesting to see how he fares in this spot.
In opposition, the Phillies will send Nick Pivetta to the hill and he has been tremendous this season. Over the course of five starts, the 25-year-old right-hander owns a 2.57 ERA (2.28 FIP) and, aside from a bumpy debut on March 30 against these same Braves, Pivetta has been tremendous. In fact, Pivetta put together a strong showing on April 17 in a win over Atlanta and, on paper, this isn’t an overly favorable pitching match-up for the Braves.
Stay tuned throughout the day for all the latest as the Braves aim to emerge victorious on this fine Saturday evening.
Game Info
Time/Date: Saturday, April 28, 6:05 pm ET
Location: Citizens Bank Park
TV: FOX Sports South, MLB Network (out of market)
Radio: 680 AM/93.7 FM, 106.7 FM Braves Radio Network