The Braves are taking on the Phillies in a pivotal doubleheader
The Atlanta Braves will be taking on the Philadelphia Phillies in a double header today after the game yesterday was postponed.
There has been a shakeup in the pitching matchups with Cristopher Sánchez now pitching in the first game against AJ Smith-Shawver.
Sánchez is not slowing down from his All-Star and Cy Young down vote season last year. He currently has a 3.17 ERA, 3.44 FIP, 1.259 WHIP and is striking out a career high 10.8 hitters per nine innings over 54.0 innings pitched.
Sánchez is walking hitters at his highest clip since 2022, so that could potentially work in the Braves’ favor.
Matt Olson has seen Sánchez the most out of any player on the Braves’ roster with twelve at-bats. He has been successful with two HRs, .333 average, and a 1.250 OPS. There have been a handful of other Braves that have done well against him too. Acuña has a 1.500 OPS in seven at-bats, Riley a 1.429 in six at-bats, Albies a 1.238 OPS in six at-bats, Fairchild a 1.000 OPS in seven at-bats, Ozuna a .955 OPS in ten at-bats, and Verdugo a .833 OPS in three at-bats.
Prior to his last start, AJ Smith-Shawver was looking like a legitimate force, but he then had arguably the worst start of his career against the Nationals where he gave up seven earned runs in only 3.0 innings of work with three walks to only one strikeout. It was clear that facing the Nationals two starts in a row was to his disadvantage.
What may come to his advantage is that he has never faced any hitter on the Phillies’ roster.
In game two we will see a matchup between the 2025 NL Cy Young award winner Chris Sale versus Cy Young runner-up Zack Wheeler.
Wheeler is arguably the best active pitcher to have not won the Cy Young award having placed second twice and receiving down votes in four of the last five seasons. He has not slowed down this season with a 2.42 ERA, 0.877 WHIP and eighty-eight strikeouts in 70.2 innings pitched. He is currently fourth in the NL in fWAR.
Unlike Sánchez, the Braves’ hitters have not had great fortune against Wheeler. Only one hitter has an OPS north of Sean Murphy’s .769. Acuña has a whopping forty-seven at-bats against Wheeler and owns a .255 average and an .867 OPS with four HRs.
Chris Sale started off the season slow by the standards he set last season but has looked great as of late. In his past five starts he has not surrendered more than two ERs. On the season he is eleventh in the NL in fWAR all while having poor BABIP luck at .359. Of all the top eleven pitchers in the NL in terms of fWAR, Sale’s .359 is the second highest.
Sale currently holds a 3.36 ERA, 1.281 WHIP, and seventy-one strikeouts over 61.2 innings. His strikeout rate of 11.4 per nine innings is the same as it was last season when he led the NL. His walks haven’t raised much either. His 9.2 hits per nine innings have been his biggest weakness, but that is explainable based on the BABIP we touched on earlier.
Nick Castellanos has seen Sale in forty-six at-bats, which by far the most on the team. No other player on the Phillies has more than nine. Castellanos has not seemed to figure Sale out with a career .677 OPS against him. The player with the most success against Sale has been Kyle Schwarber with two HRs, .444 average, and 1.777 OPS in nine at-bats.
On paper it looks like the first game of the day may be the higher scoring game of the two, with the second game being a pitchers’ duel.
The first pitch of the first game is at 1:05 EDT.
The first pitch of the second game is at 6:45 EDT.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Thursday, May 29, Game 1, 1:05 EDT. Game 2, 6:45 p.m. EDT
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
TV: FanDuel Sports South, Southeast
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan