Phillies Are Collapsing at the Worst Time and Atlanta Has Zero Mercy This Weekend
The Philadelphia Phillies are in full freefall right now, and they're about to walk into the absolute worst place to fix it. They roll into Atlanta to face the Braves on Friday night at Truist Park sitting at 8-17, which is tied for the worst record in all of baseball. A nine-game losing streak? Yeah, that happened. The Cubs swept them in four straight on Thursday, and now they're heading to the NL East basement staring up at Atlanta, who's running away with the division at 18-8 and holds the best record in the entire league.
Atlanta Isn't Just Good, They're Scary Good Right Now
The Braves took down Washington on Thursday to cap off their three-game series win, and they're making all the right moves down the stretch of their rotation. Grant Holmes gets the ball Friday night for Atlanta, and this 30-year-old righty is having himself a season. He's pitched 26.1 innings across five starts with a 3.42 ERA and 20 strikeouts. The Braves got him into the rotation because of injuries in spring training, but he's run with it. The rotation after that? They've got Elder going Saturday on regular rest (which has been working for him) and Sale lined up for Sunday. By pushing Sale back, Atlanta avoids having him pitch on regular rest until May 19. That's smart baseball.
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👉 Claim Your Free $10 at KalshiPhiladelphia's Rookie Has to Carry the Load Against a Buzzsaw
Andrew Painter gets the start for the Phillies on Friday. The 23-year-old has flashed some talent but is still figuring it out as a rookie. Through four outings, he's logged 18.1 innings with a 4.42 ERA and 20 strikeouts. He's got the tools, but inconsistency comes with the territory at this stage. That's his burden against the best team in baseball right now.
First pitch Friday is 7:15 p.m. ET at Truist Park. You can catch it on Apple TV or stream it on MLB.com if you want to watch a Phillies team desperately searching for answers.
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This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.