Braves, Phillies clash in NLDS rematch

The pair of National League East rivals do battle on Thursday when the host Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies open a four-game series and meet for the first time since last fall’s NL Division Series game

THE Phillies They were a playoff team in 2022, but fell short of 101 wins They are brave in four games and qualified for the World Cup

THE They are brave On Wednesday, they became the second NL team to reach 30 wins this season when they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 on Ozzie Albies’ sacrifice fly. Atlanta salvaged a three-game series finale against the NL’s other 30-game winner to improve to 3-3 on its current 10-game homestand.

THE Phillies Philadelphia beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5 in 10 innings on Alec Bohm’s walk-off game on Wednesday, giving Philadelphia one win in the three-game set. Victory is a Phillies‘ Ninth win of the season

Philadelphia entered the sixth down 5-0, its largest deficit Phillies beat this season

The series opener pits Philadelphia right-hander Aaron Nola (4-3, 4.31 ERA) against Atlanta rookie shortstop Dylan Dodd (2-1, 6.46).

Nola will make his 11th start of the season. He picked up the win against the Chicago Cubs in his last start on Saturday after going seven innings and allowing two runs on four hits with one walk and a season-high 10 strikeouts.

“Loading the zone,” Nola said of what led to her success. “My fastball felt really good and my curveball felt sharper.”

Nola had plenty of success against him They are brave. He is 15-10 with a 3.39 ERA in 30 career starts against Atlanta and has beaten They are brave more than any club. Last year, he went 3-2 with a 3.67 ERA against Atlanta in five starts in 34 1/3 innings.

Dodd, a third-round draft pick in 2021, split this season between Atlanta and Triple-A Gwinnett. It started three times They are brave, with the most recent coming on May 4 in Miami. Against the Marlins, Dodd, 24, allowed three runs on eight hits with three walks and one strikeout over six innings en route to the win.

“I felt like I battled through a lot of base runners,” Dodd said. “At the end of the day, I was very happy with the result.”

In six minor league starts this season, Dodd is 1-3 with a 6.67 ERA. This will be his first career appearance against Phillies

Atlanta’s Austin Riley had two doubles Wednesday and is just one RBI away from reaching 500 hits, 100 home runs and 300 RBI in his career. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only three players in franchise history have accomplished those milestones in fewer games than Riley — Fred McGriff at 412 games, Bob Horner at 429 games and Eddie Mathews at 456 games. Riley played in 499 games.

Philadelphia reliever Craig Kimbrel, who spent his career in the They are braveOver his last 13 appearances, Kimbrel has struck out 24 of 47 batters (51.1 percent) and walked just four. Earlier this season, ex-Brave Kenley Jansen picked up his 400th career save against his former club.

— Field Level Media