NL Beast

The Game: Philadelphia Phillies (21-18) vs. Atlanta Braves (19-18)

The Matchup: Kyle Kendrick (2-2, 4.93, 18/12 K/BB, 1.59 WHIP) vs. Jo-Jo Reyes (1-0, 2.25, 6/5 K/BB, 1.75 WHIP)

The Story: The Braves own the league’s worst road record at 5-14. They are coming off losing 3 of 4 in Pittsburgh and they are struggling to get out of 4th place in the division. Hit with injuries to several key players, the Braves are still one game above .500. One of those injuries was to first baseman Mark Texiera, who left yesterday’s game 1 against the Pirates in the 4th inning with back spasms. He did not play in game 2 and no word if he’s in the lineup for today.

The Phillies are also looking to right the ship. After a solid start to May, the Phillies went 3-4 on a somewhat disappointing road trip. Despite splitting 4 games with the NL leading Diamondbacks, they lost 2 of 3 to the Giants after a surprise homer given up by JC Romero to Steve Holm in Sunday’s 4-3 loss.

Kyle Kendrick is coming off of two 6 inning, 3 earned run starts. He earned a no decision in both of those games. In his start previous to those games he went 7 innings. However, he has let up 10, 8, and 7 hits respectively in is last three games. On the bright side, Kendrick has only given up 2 walks in his last 4 starts. Kendrick has gotten generous run support, with the Phillies scoring at least 5 runs in all by one of his starts. Perhaps that is masking Kendrick’s numbers. He has not looked particularly strong in any consistent stretch this season.

Stat of the Day: The Phillies have the 4th worse fielding percentage in baseball at .978. They have 33 errors in 39 games. The Rangers lead the league in errors, with 38 misplays in 40 games.

Lineups:
Phillies
Rollins (SS)
Victorino (RF)
Utley (2B)
Howard (1B)
Burrell (LF)
Werth (CF)
Feliz (3B)
Ruiz (C)
Kendrick (P)

Braves
Escobar (SS)
Kotsay (CF)
Jones (3B)
McCann (C)
Norton (1B)
Francoeur (RF)
Johnson (2B)
Blanco (LF)
Reyes (P)

-Greg Berlin