Phillies vs Braves Pick: Philly’s Luzardo Seems Back on His Game (Jun 28)

• Our Phillies vs Braves pick assesses Philly’s Jesus Luzardo trying to build on his excellent last outing as he faces Atlanta’s Spencer Schwellenbach
• Philly is going back and forth with the Mets for 1st place in the NL East
• Atlanta is trying to crawl back into playoff contention after a horrific start

Luzardo Appears To Be Back on Track

Through the end of May, Jesus Luzardo was one of MLB‘s best starters and was contending for the NL Cy Young Award. Then he had consecutive starts against the Brewers and Blue Jays in which he surrendered 20 earned runs in 6 innings. Since then, he has pitched closer to how he did early in the season, culminating in a brilliant performance against the Mets, in which he tossed 6.2 innings, gave up 3 hits, no runs, walked 1, and struck out 7.

Against Luzardo, the Braves’ Marcell Ozuna is 5 for 13 with a double and a home run. Matt Olson is 3 for 21 with a home run. Ozzie Albies is 5 for 16 with 3 doubles. Austin Riley is 5 for 20 with 2 doubles. Alex Verdugo is 3 for 5 with a double.

The Phillies and Mets are jockeying for 1st place in the NL East. Neither team has been playing very well. Right before the start of the Braves series, the Phillies were swept three straight by the Astros.

Bryce Harper is on the injured list with a wrist problem. Trea Turner is having an All-Star caliber season with an OPS approaching .800, leading the NL in hits, and stealing bases at a high rate of success.

Braves Try To Make Hay Against Teams Ahead of Them

The Braves have gotten within striking distance of .500 and the playoff race after a dreadful start. The past two weeks included a sweep of the Mets in Atlanta. They then won the first two games of their four-game series in New York before losing the final two. If they want to get back into the conversation for the division title, they need to make hay against the two teams in front of them.

The Braves start righty Spencer Schwellenbach. With Chris Sale on the injured list, Schwellenbach has taken over as the Braves’ ace.

The righty has a 3.21 ERA and has allowed 37 earned runs in 103.2 innings. He’s walked 17 and struck out 96. In every start but two, he’s tossed at least six innings.

Kyle Schwarber is 2 for 8 with a home run against Schwellenbach. J.T. Realmuto is 3 for 8 with a double. Bryson Stott is 3 for 8 with 3 singles. Trea Turner is 3 for 12 with a double. Max Kepler is 3 for 5 with 3 singles. Nick Castellanos is 2 for 12 with a double.

Since he returned from his knee injury, Ronald Acuña Jr. has an OPS of close to 1.150 and is already a 2.2 bWAR player. Ozuna is near the league lead in walks. Michael Harris Jr. is struggling with an OPS hovering around .560.

Phillies vs Braves Pick: Luzardo Rekindles His Hot Start

This should be a great pitching matchup between two solid pitchers, Luzardo and Schwellenbach. Luzardo has been dominant when he’s on his game, and Schwellenbach has been excellent for nearly the entire season. Expect a close game that the Phillies pull out late against Atlanta’s bullpen.