Phillies look to break out of slump against Braves

The Philadelphia Phillies appeared ready to challenge the New York Mets for first place in the National League East. But, after moving two games above .500, the Phillies have slipped with three straight losses, including a 7-2 setback to the Atlanta Braves on Thursday. Philadelphia will look to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat when it hosts the Braves in the second game of a four-game series on Friday. As the trade deadline quickly approaches, it's unclear what the Phillies front office will do if the team continues to lose. "All around our team, we can always be better," said Bryce Harper, who was in the starting lineup Thursday after fouling a ball off his right ankle on Wednesday (X-rays were negative). "So anybody that we go out and get, hopefully, they come in here and make our team better and give us that attitude and that mindset to go out and compete." Manager Joe Girardi is well aware how vital this series will be in determining how the team will move forward. "I think it's important we play well these next few games," Girardi said. "I think it's very important. Teams are going to decide basically whether they are going to be buyers or sellers." The Phillies will send All-Star Zack Wheeler (7-5, 2.44 ERA) to the mound. Wheeler is 7-6 with a 3.38 ERA in 19 career starts against the Braves. Philadelphia's bullpen has been struggling lately, especially in the last three games. But Girardi said he's not overly concerned. "We're OK, bullpen-wise," he said. "We'll get it back in order. There's going to be days you have to be able to adjust." The Phillies were 5-for-32 with runners in scoring position in the last three games. The Braves arrived in Philadelphia late Thursday morning after Wednesday's second game of a doubleheader was suspended due to rain in Atlanta. But the Braves looked like the fresher team as Dansby Swanson ripped his first career grand slam and Freddie Freeman added two hits and two walks. Now the Braves will search for a second straight win in this crucial series. "It's one of those things. I kinda wish we could have played, I kind of liked where we were at," Braves manager Brian Snitker said of the doubleheader against the San Diego Padres. "We had three at-bats left and I kind of liked our chances." The Braves always have a chance to win when Max Fried starts. Fried (7-5, 4.29) is 3-2 with a 4.08 ERA in 12 career games (six starts) against the Phillies. Fried also had a career-high three hits in his last outing against the Tampa Bay Rays. Injured catcher Travis d'Arnaud has been recovering from torn ligaments in his left thumb and could play as early as Friday. "A lot of progress," Snitker said. "We're actually going to take him on the road and work him out. He's coming along good. He's swinging with two hands. He's off the tee and catching balls off the machine. It just takes time to get all his strength, range of motion and all that stuff back. He's right where the medical staff thought he would be right now." --Field Level Media