Philadelphia @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 21, 2018 ) Philadelphia 5, Atlanta 6

Ozzie Albies belted 20 homers in the first half of the season before a major power outage, but the Atlanta Braves second baseman put his team in position to clinch the National League East title at home Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Albies, mired in a 1-for-22 slump, blasted just his third longball of the second half to jump start a five-run seventh inning Friday as the Braves rallied for a 6-5 victory, lowering their magic number to clinch the division crown to two.

Atlanta needs just one victory over the Phillies in the final two games of the series to lock up its first division title and playoff berth since 2013, and baseball’s biggest surprise of 2018 once again found a way in the late innings after entering the bottom of the seventh trailing 4-1. Third baseman Johan Camargo delivered the tiebreaking hit with two outs in the seventh, driving home two runs, while finishing 2-for-4 as the Braves won their third game in a row. The Phillies dropped to 6-13 in September and continue to struggle against the NL East, falling to 32-39 against division competition by blowing a 4-1 lead after scoring three times in the top of the seventh. Philadelphia pitching has allowed 31 runs on 54 hits in losing four of its past six games, including four runs against Pat Neshek - who brought a 1.47 ERA since the start of last season into Friday.

TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, Fox

PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Jake Arrieta (10-9, 3.77 ERA) vs. Braves RH Mike Foltynewicz (11-10, 2.90)

Arrieta was signed in the offseason to set the tone for Philadelphia’s young rotation, but the veteran has struggled recently in going 1-3 with a 6.03 ERA and eight homers allowed in his past seven starts. The 32-year-old has surrendered four runs in four of his past five starts, including Monday against the New York Mets when he gave up nine hits over five innings. Arrieta won his only start against Atlanta this season, giving up seven hits across 6 2/3 scoreless innings on May 23.

Foltynewicz makes his 30th start of the season and seeks to rebound from one of his worst efforts of 2018 on Monday against St. Louis, taking the loss while giving up six runs on five hits with four walks over 4 2/3 innings. The 26-year-old has established himself as Atlanta’s ace and likely would be the Game 1 starter should the Braves reach the playoffs, posting a 2.70 ERA with a .192 opponents batting average in his past seven starts. Foltynewicz is 1-1 with a 1.96 ERA in four starts against the Phillies this season.

WALK-OFFS

1. Phillies C Wilson Ramos is hitting .390 with 17 RBIs in 27 games since being acquired from Tampa Bay.

2. Albies is one double shy of 40 for the season, which would give the Braves three players (Nick Markakis, 43; Freddie Freeman, 40) with 40-plus doubles for the season.

3. Philadelphia INF/OF Jose Bautista is seven hits shy of 1,500 for his career; five of those hits coming with Atlanta earlier this season.

PREDICTION: Braves 6, Phillies 2