Tyler Mahle has experienced a tale of two seasons, both individually and from a team standpoint.
The veteran right-hander looks to continue his pleasant turnaround Sunday afternoon when the Atlanta Braves visit the Philadelphia Phillies in the third contest of a four-game set.
After bouncing around in recent years, Mahle (5-10, 4.25 ERA) hoped to find a home when he signed with the San Francisco Giants over the winter. But he struggled to the tune of a 3-9 mark with a 5.13 ERA, prompting the team to trade him to Atlanta on Aug. 2.
Mahle has become a vastly different pitcher in his time with the Braves, posting a 2-1 record with a 1.48 ERA in five starts. In his last start one week ago, he allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings against the Colorado Rockies, finishing with nine strikeouts and zero walks.
“This is probably the best team I’ve ever been a part of,” Mahle said, reflecting on his move from the scuffling Giants to the first-place Braves. “It’s nice to know I could come in and hit the ground running and not miss a beat with where this team was already. I could just fit in and do my part.”
Mahle faced the Phillies twice in April while pitching for the Giants. He held Philadelphia scoreless over 5 2/3 innings in the first matchup before surrendering five runs in five innings later in the month. For his career, Mahle is 1-2 with a 3.80 ERA against the Phillies.
Philadelphia will counter with Aaron Nola (6-10, 4.93), who also has been an improved pitcher of late. He has allowed one run or fewer in three of his last four starts, notching three wins during that stretch. In his last outing, Nola yielded one run in five innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“I notice that when I don’t have that much life on the fastball, they foul more pitches off and run the pitch count up, and work better (at-bats),” Nola said after requiring 104 pitches to get 15 outs.
Nola is 17-12 with a 3.80 ERA in 39 lifetime starts against Atlanta.
The Braves won Friday’s series opener 5-2 before the Phillies bounced back Saturday with a 4-2 triumph. Zack Wheeler gave Philadelphia six strong innings on Saturday, while Kyle Schwarber’s MLB-leading 41st homer was the offensive highlight for the hosts.
The Phillies (80-62) trail the Braves (84-58) by four games in the NL East. The teams have two games remaining in this series – Sunday and Monday – before meeting again for a three-game set next weekend in Atlanta.
“We’re close to them, and every game matters, especially against them,” Wheeler said. “It can swing pretty quick. We know where we’re at and we know where they’re at, and where we’re trying to be. So every game matters, especially against these guys.”
The Braves, who had won nine of their previous 11 games, managed only five hits in Saturday’s setback. Ronald Acuna Jr. and Austin Riley belted solo homers in a losing effort.
“You know when you’ve got him on the ropes, you’ve got to get something,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said of the missed opportunities against Wheeler. “We didn’t.”
–Field Level Media
