The Atlanta Braves are looking to breakout the brooms against the Philadelphia Phillies and get their sixth straight win as they continue to surge through the National League East. A win on Thursday would give the Braves back-to-back series sweeps before they head into a weekend showdown with the New York Mets.
The Thursday afternoon game features young vs. old on the pitching mound. The Phillies will send veteran AJ Burnett to the mound in hopes that he can get over his recently diagnosed hernia. The pitcher left his last start due to discomfort only after giving up two runs and five hits while walking six in four innings. The pitcher is hoping to continue the season with it and avoid going on the disabled list. He has yet to win a game with the Phillies. His start against Texas on April was blown by the bullpen, something that has become an issue for the Phillies. They desperately need Burnett to put up a quality start in order to avoid another late-game meltdown.
The Braves enjoy hitting against Burnett. The pitcher has lost seven of his last eight decisions while Justin Upton, Jason Heyward and Gerald Laird all have success against the veteran. Evan Gattis is also putting on show lately at the plate. His solo home run was the lone score of Wednesday win. He is 9 for 13 with three home runs in his last three games. He is also 8 for 12 with five home runs at Citizens Bank Park.
Alex Wood will take the mound for the Braves. The youngster started out well who gave up one run and struck out eight in five innings against the Washington Nationals last Saturday. He has a 3.86 ERA in seven appearances against Philadelphia while opposing batters are hitting .315 off the left hander.
