Braves bid to ‘make some hay’ vs. foundering Phillies

Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker made his feelings clear about Thursday night’s 4-0 loss at the New York Mets after a reporter asked him about going 5-2 against the National League East leaders over the last 10 days.

“We needed to go 7-0 against them, quite honestly,” Snitker said. “We are trying to dig out of a hole, and we need to win every series we play.”

Atlanta will begin a nine-game homestand Friday night against the Philadelphia Phillies trailing New York by 10 games. It’s not the spot many envisioned for the Braves, but they simply haven’t been able to overcome their 0-7 start to the season.

And even when Atlanta hints at going in the right direction, the team struggles to take the next step. After 3-2 and 7-4 wins to start their four-game set with the Mets, the Braves scored just three runs in losing the series’ last two games.

Making Thursday night’s blanking even more frustrating for Snitker and the Braves was that the team managed only three hits against five pitchers. They couldn’t do much against a New York bullpen asked to carry 6 1/3 innings after Griffin Canning left with an ankle injury.

“We’re not happy with something like this,” Snitker said. “We couldn’t get anything going. We need to make some hay there. It’s not good.”

Atlanta hopes to get a good start from right-hander Bryce Elder (2-4, 4.77 ERA) in the series opener. He last worked on Sunday, losing 5-3 in Miami after being roughed up for five runs on 10 hits over 5 1/3 innings with a walk and four strikeouts.

Elder has a pair of no-decisions with a 3.38 ERA in two career encounters versus Philadelphia. Walks have been the only problem, as he’s ceded seven over 10 2/3 innings.

The Phillies likely will take anything they can get on the heels of a horrible series in Houston. They were swept and scored just one run, making them just the 10th team in MLB history to be swept while allowing five or fewer runs. They managed only four hits in Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the Astros.

Philadelphia is 47-34 at the halfway point of its season, a half-game behind the Mets in the NL East.

“I don’t think we’ve played our best baseball,” Phillies shortstop Trea Turner said. “Definitely need to get better … when you get to that halfway point, it’s time to get going.”

The Phillies will try to get going with rookie right-hander Mick Abel (2-1, 3.47 ERA) on the mound. His last game was Saturday night, when the Mets tagged him with an 11-4 loss. Abel permitted four runs on six hits in three innings, walking none and fanning one. This will be his first career start against the Braves.

Philadelphia’s chances at October success figure to come down to whether its offense can match the starting pitching. Phillies starters lead the majors in innings and strikeouts while tying for third in ERA. But the team is on pace to hit just 166 homers, which would be its lowest single-season total since 2016.

Philadelphia and Atlanta have split six games this year, each team taking two of three at home.

–Field Level Media