Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves preview: Julio Teheran faces Cole Hamels
By Brad Rowland
The Atlanta Braves turned a potential speed bump into a lucrative victory on Sunday night, and with less than a 24-hour turnaround, Fredi Gonzalez and company will aim to continue the success against the Philadelphia Phillies. The division rivals from Pennsylvania arrive to begin a three-game set at Turner Field, and in the opener, the biggest story is what amounts to a big-time pitching match-up between Julio Teheran and Cole Hamels.
On the Philadelphia side, the 30-year-old Hamels is the best pitcher in the Phillies rotation at the moment, as a result of Cliff Lee‘s injury woes. Hamels has amassed a 3.07 ERA with a 1.22 WHIP over ten starts this season, and while there was some concern about his durability earlier in the year, he has erased most of those doubts with strong showings. In the past, Hamels has been a very difficult match-up for Atlanta’s lineup, but with more right-handers on board in 2014, perhaps the Braves can get to him early and often here.
The Braves will send Julio Teheran to the hill, and quite frankly, he has been easily the best starting pitcher on the roster this season. However, Teheran is coming off of his worst outing of the year in Colorado last week, as he allowed 7 earned runs over 6.1 innings, and it would be encouraging to see him pick up where he left off prior to that performance. For the year, Julio maintains a lights-out 2.41 ERA, and the Philadelphia offense is conducive to prosperity for the young right-hander.
Here is a look at the particulars for Monday:
Date: June 16, 2014
Start Time: 7:10 pm ET
TV Channel: SportSouth
Radio: 680 AM/106.7 FM (Local in Atlanta), Full list of Local Affiliates
Live Stream: MLB.tv (Click Here, $)
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