Phillies (3-3) at Braves (3-4) Preview - philliesfan136's Dynasty

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Phillies (3-3) at Braves (3-4) Preview

Posted on July 2, 2011 at 11:50 AM.

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PHILADELPHIA- The Phils' ended their short 6-game homestand with a .500 record, losing 2 straight after an impressive offensive showing in a win in Game 1 of 3 against the Mets. Now, they travel to Atlanta and face the 3-4 Braves for another three-game series before getting the day off.
Besides the potent offense of Chipper Jones, Brian McCann, youngsters Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman, and offseason acquistion Dan Uggla, the Braves also have one of the NL's top pitching staffs.
It should be an interesting pitching matchup as 25-year-old Jair Jurrjens will oppose 2008's AL Cy Young Winner (among other awards in a 22-3 2008 season),32-year-old Cliff Lee. Let's take a look at how they each did in their first starts of the season:

Phillies at Braves:Tale of the Tape
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LHP Cliff Lee
4/2 VS Astros: 8.1 IP,3 H, 2 K(W 6-0)

VS

RHP Jair Jurrjens
4/3 VS Nationals: 8 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 6 K, 2 BB (W 4-1)

As you can see, both pitchers went 8 innings, Lee allowing 3 hits through 8 1/3, and Jurrjens giving up only 1 run with 6 strikeouts through 8. Both pitchers ended up with a win in their strong efforts, and it should be exciting to see who can keep their hot streak going as both pitchers look to start off 2-0.

As for their lineups, there's a few batters on each team that also will look to stay hot. Freddie Freeman is batting a ridiculous .400 over his first 30 AB, racking up 3 doubles, 3 homers,7 RBI, and 6 runs scored. 38-year-old Chipper Jones and former Marlin Dan Uggla are also looking good for the Braves.For the Phillies, Ryan Howard is batting a cool .320 with 6 RBI to go along with a few bombs and 4 doubles. Another Phillie that is starting his season well is Chase Utley who is 8-24 (.333) and has 2 HR in 6 games this season. Top prospect Domonic Brown is a third Phils' batter looking impressive, hitting .286 with 2 homers and 6 RBI, also collecting 3 doubles and scoring 4 times. Here's the rest of the lineups for Game 1 of this three-game set:

Starting Lineups
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Phillies
Shane Victorino CF
Placido Polanco 3B
Chase Utley 2B
Ryan Howard 1B
Domonic Brown RF
John Mayberry Jr. LF
Carlos Ruiz C
Wilson Valdez SS
Cliff Lee P

at

Braves
Martin Prado LF
Chipper Jones 3B
Dan Uggla 2B
Brian McCann C
Jason Heyward RF
Alex Gonzalez SS
Freddie Freeman 1B
Nate McLouth CF
Jair Jurrjens P

Both teams have a few hot hitters, and the Phillies will have to look out for Freddie Freeman. Besides the aformentioned batters, there isn't too much else to talk about. There are some changes in the lineup for the Phillies though, as John Mayberry Jr. gets the start in left with Ben Francisco getting the day off, and Wilson Valdez will make his 2011 debut, getting the start at shortstop. J-Roll also gets a break after going 6-23 (.261) with 3 doubles and 3 runs scored over the first 6 games. Rollins probably gets the day off because the Phillies management wants to make sure his knee is stable and he keeps healthy.

Summary
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Watch out for Freddie Freeman. He is on fire.
This will be a battle of two good offenses and two very good pitchers. Whoever scores first will probably win this one.

This has been our Phillies-Braves Game 1 preview. The final score and stats will be on shortly.