Philadelphia at Atlanta

The Philadelphia Phillies have arrived a year early, but trail the Atlanta Braves by 5.5 games. They open a four-game series in Atlanta tonight, and finish the season with three games at home vs. the Braves. If they can win at least three of four here, they could make things interesting the rest of the way. The Phillies have won two straight series, and are playing better while the Braves are just 1-4 over their last five. The Braves have won 7-of-12 from the Phillies on the season, but 9 of the 12 were played all the way back in April. The other three games were in May, so it has been four months since these teams have squared off. The Phillies know they have to lay it all on the line tonight or their chances of reaching the postseason become very poor. Back  Philadelphia.