New year, same problems for the Atlanta Braves.
Despite erasing the memory of last season’s collapse by racing to the top of the NL East standings, the Braves still can’t figure out the Philadelphia Phillies. With their top pitcher, Brandon Beachy on the mound last night, Atlanta dropped its series opener to Philadelphia, 4-2, and try to rebound Wednesday night.
It won’t get any easier, though. After being tamed by Cole Hamels, the Braves will face Roy Halladay who is 3-2 on the year with a 1.95 ERA. He’s 4-1 lifetime against Atlanta with a 1.78 ERA.
That’s good news for the Phillies. The four runs they plated last night were actually an offensive burst. The team is hitting .250 on the season and averaging just 3.3 runs per game this year. Without All-Stars Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, they’ve scored less than four runs 13 times on the year.
”We just have to keep battling,” Hamels told the Associated Press. “Things aren’t going to come easy. Sometimes we have months in the past where things just seemed like they were easy because it seemed like we could just steamroll through a team. It’s not going to be that case anymore.”
Halladay has been victimized by the low run support himself. He gave up three runs over seven innings to the Chicago Cubs and was steamrolled 5-1 in his last start.
”You worry about what you can control,” said Halladay. ”As a pitcher, really that’s just trying to make pitches. Outside of that there’s not a whole lot you have a hand in, whether it’s offensively or defensively or where balls are hit. That’s part of the game and you understand that.”
Tommy Hanson is tasked with keeping that run support low for Atlanta, and has a good track record against Philadelphia with a 2.23 career ERA. He’s won two 
starts in a row, giving up just a run over six innings to the Pittsburgh Pirates last week.
“Tommy didn’t have his best stuff, but he got through it,” manager Fredi Gonzalez told the team’s website. “He pitched.”
The Phillies are favored by 1 1/2 runs, according to Bovada with a -111 moneyline to win two in a row.