Braves set to send Spencer Strider to hopefully sit down Phillies

Oh right, there are actual baseball games today instead of simply talking about trades and contract extensions. In fact, the Braves are back in action against the Phillies for the first of a two-game series that’ll probably come and go in the blink of an eye since tomorrow’s game is a 12:20 start.

The Braves have to be feeling good about the pitching matchup since they’ll have Spencer Strider taking on the Phillies again. Strider has pitched 8.2 innings against Philadelphia this season and he’s racked up 11 strikeouts with just three hits, three walks and two runs allowed. Six of those innings came in Strider’s most recent start, where the only major blemish on Strider’s line was Kyle Schwarber hitting a homer in the sixth inning. Other than that, Spencer Strider was too much for Philadelphia to handle in his last outing and if there’s a repeat performance tonight then the Braves could be in good shape.

That’s because the Phillies are going with a bullpen game tonight. Nick Nelson will be kicking things off for Philadelphia’s pitching staff tonight and unlike Strider, Nelson doesn’t have much success this season against his opponents tonight. Nelson has given up at least one run in both of his appearances against the Braves this season and you may remember Nelson as the pitcher of record during that particularly crazy walk-off win for Atlanta over Philadelphia back in May.

It would be nice if the Braves kept that streak going and got off to a quick start in this one by jumping on Nelson early and getting a run or two. While Philadelphia’s bullpen isn’t exactly the dumpster fire that everybody has gotten used to them being over the past couple of seasons, this still figures to be a prime opportunity for this Braves lineup to have a big night at the plate against a crew of relief pitchers.

The Braves are coming into this series riding a wave of confidence following a sweep of the Diamondbacks over the weekend. Additionally, they’ll be looking to set the record straight after recently dropping a series to this same Phillies team. With the trade deadline coming and going, the real meat and potatoes of this season is about to get underway and it would be great to enter this important portion of the season on a winning note.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Tuesday, August 2, 7:20 p.m. ET

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, Georgia

TV: Bally Sports Southeast

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan