The Philadelphia Phillies (8-17) are in the midst of one of the worst stretches in recent franchise history, and it does not get any easier as they enter a crucial three-game road series Friday against their division rivals, the Atlanta Braves (18-8).
Holding the league’s longest active losing streak at nine games and the franchise's longest skid since September 20-28 of 2018, the Phillies look to avoid a 10-game slide.
The Phillies are tied with the Kansas City Royals for the worst record in MLB. The Braves own baseball’s best record at 18-8.
The Phillies had one of the worst homestands in franchise history when they went 2-7 against Arizona, Chicago and Atlanta.
The Cubs and Braves are the teams responsible for the losing streak, and the Phillies face them back-to-back on this seven-day, seven-game road trip as the losing continues. Philadelphia was swept in a four-game set at Wrigley Field to start the week after dropping a gut-wrenching 8-7 extra-inning game on Thursday.
Now, the Phillies take on the red-hot Braves, who swept them to close out that brutal homestand.
Atlanta most recently took three of four against the Washington Nationals on the road and has won 8 of their last 10 games and 12 of their last 15. They have a 5.5 game lead over second-place Miami and are 9.5 games ahead of the Phillies.
The Atlanta Braves shuffled their rotation slightly leading up to the series. This is how the teams will match up on the mound:
Game 1, Apple TV, 7:15 p.m.: RHP Andrew Painter (1-1, 4.42 ERA) vs. RHP Grant Holmes (1-1, 3.42 ERA)
These two squared off in the series finale on Sunday, where the Braves won 4-2 to cap off the sweep. Painter struggled with his command at times, leaving pitches up in the zone. The rookie only lasted four innings and allowed three runs on five hits while striking out four.
Holmes got off to a rocky start in that game. Trea Turner singled, and Kyle Schwarber homered to give the Phillies a quick 2-0 lead. However, the righty settled in, ultimately retiring 13 of his final 16 hitters faced.
Game 2, NBCSP+, 7:15 p.m.: RHP Zack Wheeler (0-0, -.-- ERA) vs. RHP Bryce Elder (3-1, 1.50 ERA)
Perhaps getting their veteran ace back will calm the choppy waters. Wheeler will make his season debut after a lengthy rehab process and roughly seven months after undergoing surgery for vascular thoracic outlet syndrome. The righty made five starts in the minor leagues between Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley, posting a 5.85 ERA in 20 innings of work, racking up 23 strikeouts.
Elder has been fantastic for the Braves. The fellow righty has allowed three earned runs or less in all five of his starts this season, including back-to-back shutout outings against the Athletics and Diamondbacks, tossing 13 scoreless innings, allowing nine hits, two walks and 13 strikeouts.
Game 3, NBCSP, 1:35 p.m : RHP Aaron Nola (1-2, 5.06 ERA) vs. LHP Chris Sale (4-1, 2.79 ERA)
Nola makes his first start against the Braves this season after facing the Cubs in back-to-back outings. Last time out, the righty failed to complete five innings, a common theme for the starting rotation, lasting just 4 ⅓ innings and allowing five earned runs on six hits with four walks and five strikeouts.
He will face a future Hall of Famer in Sale. The Phillies have struggled mightily against left-handed pitching this season. Sale dominated Philadelphia in his last start on Saturday, spinning seven innings of one-run ball, racking up seven punchouts.
Brandon Marsh had one of his best games as a Phillie on Thursday, but it was not enough to help get the Phillies over the hump. The outfielder put together his first multi-homer game since the 2023 season and drove in three runs. Marsh continues to mash righties, hitting .333/.358/.587 with a .946 OPS across 67 plate appearances with four home runs and 14 RBIs.
Braves’ slugging first baseman Matt Olson has been on a tear as of late. Over his last 16 games, he has posted a .951 OPS with six doubles and five home runs while driving in 16 runs. He has racked up 18 hits, picking up at least one hit in all but one game during the stretch. Against the Phillies last week, however, he was just 2-for-11 at the plate with a double and two RBIs.
For the Phillies, another loss would extend the losing streak to 10 games, which would be the longest for the team since September 4-14, 1999.
That team finished 77-85 and in third place in the NL East.
The Phillies currently sit 9.5 games behind the Braves, and a sweep would push them deeper down in the standings to an astonishing 12.5 games out of first before the calendar flips to May.
Rob Thomson’s job is also at stake. Dave Dombrowski told the media that he won’t put any stock into the performance until 40 games into the season. However, if a lifeless performance takes place in Atlanta this weekend, Dombrowski might be forced to act sooner, despite Thomson trying to navigate an aging, flawed and underperforming roster.
