Andrew Miller Ultimate 2015 Highlights
Phillies (48-58) at Braves (36-68)1:35 p.m. on CSN
Two sellers take the field in Atlanta one day before the trade deadline. Jerad Eickhoff is the starter for the Phillies as they try to take three of four from the last-place Braves.
Here are five things to know for Sunday afternoon"s game:
1. Eickhoff and the curveFor the third time in four starts, Eickhoff took a loss on Tuesday in Miami. The loss said little about his actual performance though.
Eickhoff returned to form in his seven-inning performance, allowing just one run on five hits and a walk. He struck out eight and would have gotten a win if his lineup had, you know, scored. The game was his 12th loss, which leads baseball, but it was more a funciton of his 3.25 runs of support per start, one of the worst marks in baseball.
Stats-wise, there were two big numbers in Tuesday"s start for Eickhoff: 28 and eight. He threw 28 curveballs, which helped him strike out eight Marlins. It was his highest strikeout total since July 4 against the Braves, who he"ll face on Sunday.
But let"s focus on the curveball. He threw it 31 percent of the time on Tuesday, his highest percentage for a start since May 11 (also against Atlanta). Could Eickhoff"s curve be a key to unlocking success? He had struggled with the same Marlins lineup just five days prior and the mid-70s curve provides a strong contrast to his low-90s fastball.
How Eickhoff utilizes his curveball on Sunday will be interesting to watch. The Braves have certainly seen him and that pitch before, although they have a shuffling cast that could be different from the beginning of the month. Can Eickhoff simply stick with his fastball and slider to stop the weak Braves" offense, or will the curveball play a big role this afternoon?
2. Crowded outfield in AtlantaThe Braves got out from under a Hector Olivera"s contract on Saturday night just to take on Matt Kemp"s big money in a deal with San Diego Padres. Olivera, who was arrested for domestic violence, was promptly designated for assignment by the Padres, so the Braves essentially took on a bigger deal for slightly more production.
Kemp is far from his old self. He is still an above-average hitter, but is deep in decline. He has hit 23 home runs (as many as he did last season), b, so he still has power. Kemp is batting .262, his worst batting average since 2010 and has drawn just 16 walks to 100 strikeouts.
It doesn"t help that Kemp isn"t very fleet of foot. He can play a barely passable corner outfield at this point and hasn"t played centerfield since 2014.
With young outfielders like Ender Inciarte, Jace Pederson and Mallex Smith in Atlanta and Nick Markakis under contract for a few more seasons, it makes little sense for Kemp to be on the Braves" young roster. At least as long as Markakis is there, which may not be the case after the trade deadline.
A player who is traded has three days to report, so Kemp may not be in the lineup on Sunday. However, the Phillies will certainly see him in a Braves uniform later this season and likely in the years to come. He has a .310 average in 56 career games against the Phillies, hitting nine home runs and compiling 33 RBI. But remember, he"s not the Kemp of old.
3. Scouting De La CruzJoel De La Cruz will be the Braves starter on Sunday afternoon. He was a reliever for them in the series opener on Thursday. Because he isn"t fully stretched out, one has to imagine he won"t be lasting very long into Sunday"s game.
De La Cruz is a 27-year-old rookie who bounced around the Brewers, Nationals and Yankees" farm systems for the last decade before making his debut with the Braves this year. The 6-foot-1 righty made two starts, one against the Phillies, before moving the to the bullpen.
In his first start against the Phillies, he got through six innings on July 4 (against Eickhoff) and allowed seven runs (four earned and all in second inning) on nine hits. He didn"t walk anyone but allowed home runs to Odubel Herrera and Maikel Franco.
On Thursday, he needed just four pitches to retire two batters.
De La Cruz relies on a low 90s sinker that he throws more than half the time. His offspeed offerings include a mid-80s slider and change-up. Hitters have had far more success off his sinker than his off-speed stuff, but it is also a small sample size.
Since the start against the Phillies, he has a 3.68 ERA in 7 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.
4. Players to watchPhillies: Maikel Franco had a bad night all around while the Phillies offense scored nine runs on Saturday. He went 0 for 5 and misplayed a ball in the ninth inning to prolong the game (scored a hit). How will he bounce back?
Braves: If it wasn"t for a $135 million contract, it"d be easy to feel bad for Freddie Freeman. He"s in the midst of another good year for the Braves, but he"s under contract through 2022 for a team that is far from contention.
5. This and that In three starts this season against Atlanta, Jerad Eickhoff is 2-1 with a 2.37 ERA. That means 33 percent of his wins have come against the MLB-worst Braves.
Freeman is 5 for 12 in his career against Eickhoff with a solo home run. Markakis is 3 for 10 with two RBI.
Herrera and Cesar Hernandez both had multiple hits off De La Cruz in the July 4 start.
Source: http://www.csnphilly.com/philadelphia-phillies/mlb-notes-cleveland-indians-acquire-andrew-miller-new-york-yankees-agree-deal-milwaukee-brewers-jonathan
