Atlanta @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( May 21, 2016 ) Atlanta 2, Philadelphia 0

The Atlanta Braves have clinched their second series win of the season and will try to lock up their second sweep when they visit the Philadelphia Phillies in the finale of a three-game series on Sunday. The National League-worst Braves took the series opener 7-1 on Friday and kept up the strong pitching in a 2-0 triumph on Saturday afternoon.

Atlanta earned a three-game sweep at Miami from April 15-17 for its lone series win of the campaign and had dropped five of the first seven on the 10-game road trip before getting to Philadelphia. Freddie Freeman slammed a pair of home runs on Friday to back Matt Wisler's strong start and Williams Perez allowed two hits in 6 1/3 innings on Saturday before handing it off to the bullpen. The scoring drought is nothing new for the Phillies, who have not scored more than four runs in any of their last eight games. Philadelphia slugger Ryan Howard went 0-for-2 on Saturday before being lifted for a pinch hitter and is 0-for-12 with five strikeouts in his last four games.

TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), CSN Philadelphia

PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Casey Kelly (0-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Jerad Eickhoff (1-6, 4.44)

Kelly is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to make his second major-league start of the season. The 26-year-old former top prospect is one of several promising young arms in the Atlanta system trying to establish himself and has battled back after arm surgery limited him to three major-league appearances following his 2012 debut with the San Diego Padres. Kelly worked three innings of relief against the New York Mets on April 22 in his first appearance for the Braves and yielded one run.

Eickhoff is hoping to end a string of five consecutive losing decisions but needs more support after receiving a total of four runs from his offense in his last three outings. The 25-year-old held the Miami Marlins to three runs on six hits and a pair of walks in six innings on Monday but suffered the loss in a game the Phillies went on to lose 5-3. Eickhoff was not quite as sharp at Atlanta on May 11, when he surrendered four runs – three earned – in 4 1/3 innings.

WALK-OFFS

1. Braves INF Chase d’Arnaud is 5-for-8 with a pair of doubles in his last two games.

2. Phillies OF Tyler Goeddel is 12-for-28 over his last eight games, lifting his average from .159 to .264.

3. Freeman has eight of Atlanta’s league-low 18 home runs.

PREDICTION: Phillies 4, Braves 2