The Atlanta Braves' pitching continues with their inconsistencies as Ryan Howard continues to excel against the Philadelphia Phillies' National League rivals. Something about Turner Field brings out Howard's power swing as the Braves keep learning that the hard way. After another loss to Howard's bat, can the Braves salvage a win behind Aaron Harang?
Howard had not hit a home run in 12 games before knocking out two in the series against the Braves. He has a total of 46 homeruns in his career against Atlanta, the most against any opponent. That is twice as many as David Wright. He also has 126 career RBIs in 143 games against his rivals. In his last 17 games against Atlanta, Howard has recorded nine home runs and 19 RBIs. His bat has helped the Phillies knock the Braves out of first place in the National League while chasing the Washington Nationals for the top spot.
The Phillies have won six of their last eight games and are now five games from the Nationals. Reid Brignac is leading the charge as he recorded his third straight multi-hit game while batting .391 in his last six starts. Philadelphia will send Roberto Hernandez to the mound to keep the momentum alive and complete a sweep of the Braves. He has not allowed more than two runs in his past five of seven starts, but has received just seven runs of support in that time space.
The Braves need to step things up and hope Harang can push things a bit. He has had four straight quality starts while snapping a five-start losing streak. He gave up just one run in six innings to the Los Angeles Angels. The Braves are struggling for hits lately as Evan Gattis appears to be the team's best offensive producer right now. He is batting .406 during a 16-game hit streak. He has seven homeruns and 18 RBIs during that stretch. Against the Phillies he is batting .455 with six home runs and 11 RBIs in eight games. The Braves have totaled four runs in their past four meetings against the team so Gattis' bat is needed.
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