Braves set to wrap up abbreviated series in Philadelphia Thursday

After getting washed out on Wednesday, the Atlanta Braves will return to action Thursday afternoon where they will wrap up an abbreviated two-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Bryce Elder will get the start for Atlanta while the Phillies will go with Aaron Nola.

Rookie right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver was scheduled to start Wednesday’s game, but the Braves opted to stick with Elder for Thursday and push Smith-Shawver back to Friday’s series opener in Cincinnati.

Elder has put together a banner season for Atlanta and has helped stabilize the rotation after the loss of Max Fried and Kyle Wright to injury. After allowing nine runs over his first two starts in June, Elder bounced back over the weekend by holding the Rockies to just four hits and one run over six innings. Thursday will be Elder’s first career appearance against the Phillies.

Nola was scheduled to start Wednesday and will now push back a day for the Phillies. He is no stranger to the Braves having faced them 31 times in his career where he has a 3.51 ERA in 194 2/3 innings. It has been an up and down season to date for Nola and he will enter Thursday’s start with a 4.66 ERA and a 4.17 FIP. He also comes in struggling to start June having allowed 10 runs over his last 13 innings.

Austin Riley homered in Tuesday’s win and now has 16 in his career against the Phillies. He has had plenty of success against Nola in his career hitting .444/.479/.889 with five home runs in 48 plate appearances. Ronald Acuña Jr also has good numbers against the Phillies’ right-hander hitting .350/.447/.775 with four home runs in 47 plate appearances.

Thursday’s game is scheduled to begin at 1:05 p.m. ET and can be seen on Bally Sports South.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Thursday, June 22, 1:05 p.m. ET

Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

TV: Bally Sports South, MLB Network

Streaming: MLB.tv

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan