Philadelphia @ Atlanta preview
Turner Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 22, 2010 ) Atlanta 0, Philadelphia 1
The Atlanta Braves are looking for one final push to propel both themselves and veteran manager Bobby Cox into the postseason.
As for the four-time defending NL East champion Philadelphia Phillies, they're just trying to get their tired studs some rest as they prepare for potentially another run through the playoffs.
The division rivals will square off on Friday in the opener of the regular-season series finale at Turner Field.
Atlanta (90-69) enters the contest with a two-game lead in the race for the wild card over the San Diego Padres (88-71), who will face the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants (91-68) in a pivotal three-game series.
After sweeping the Florida Marlins to reduce their magic number to two, the Braves will look to claim the final spot for the postseason when they send Brandon Beachy (0-1, 2.89) to the hill on Friday.
The 24-year-old right-hander is making his third straight start in place of Jair Jurrjens, who continues to experience pain in his knee.
Beachy debuted against the Phillies on Sept. 20, but allowed three runs and four hits over 4 1/3 innings to take the loss. In his last outing, Beachy pitched well - striking out nine while allowing just two runs and five hits over five innings - but settled for a no-decision against the Washington Nationals.
One positive for Beachy is that he is not expected to face the full power of the Phillies, who have been sitting their starters in an attempt to gain some rest for the postseason.
First baseman Ryan Howard, second baseman Chase Utley, third baseman Placido Polanco and outfielder Jayson Werth all sat out Wednesday's game.
The bad news for Beachy? The Phillies' substitutes came to play in that game as Ben Francisco belted a pair of homers and drove in three runs and John Mayberry added a three-run shot in their 7-1 victory over the Nationals.
Mike Sweeney also went deep and scored twice and Joe Blanton tossed seven strong innings for Philadelphia (95-64), which improved to 17-4 in its last 21 games.
The Phillies will send Kyle Kendrick (10-10, 4.76 ERA) to the hill on Friday.
The 26-year-old right-hander has dropped five of his last seven decisions and will likely work out of the bullpen when the postseason begins.
In his last outing, Kendrick permitted four runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings en route to a 5-2 loss to the arch-rival New York Mets on Saturday.
Kendrick has found success against Cox's club, however. He is 4-1 with a 2.53 ERA in nine career outings against the Braves.