Braves Look to Set the Tone in NL East Against Phillies on Opening Day

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 28: The Philadelphia Phillies take batting practice before the game against the Atlanta Braves on Opening Day at Citizens Bank Park on March 28, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 28: The Philadelphia Phillies take batting practice before the game against the Atlanta Braves on Opening Day at Citizens Bank Park on March 28, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
3 of 3
Dansby Swanson #7, Ozzie Albies #1 and Austin Riley #27 of the Atlanta Braves. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Dansby Swanson #7, Ozzie Albies #1 and Austin Riley #27 of the Atlanta Braves. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Braves vs. Phillies: Who Wins the Series

It’s incredibly hard to predict baseball, but especially the first series of the year. You don’t know what kind of emotions these players will play with out of the gate.

I think you have to give a huge advantage to the Phillies here who are playing at home in front of fans for the first time in over a year. They’re going to be jacked up and ready for this series just like they were in 2019 after signing Harper.

Sunday feels like the best chance for the Braves to get a win. I think it will be a big advantage for Anderson with Phillies hitters not having a look at him yet.

But on the flip side, Eflin has held down the Braves pretty well in the past.

Still, I’ll give Atlanta the edge on Sunday pretty easily.

These first two are very hard to get a read on.

The Phillies bullpen was their biggest weakness last year and they’ve tried to improve that by bringing in Archie Bradley. Hector Neris will still be their closer.

Atlanta still has a big edge in the bullpen department, and with starters likely only throwing around 80 pitches in this opening series, that gives the Braves a big edge.

Prediction: With the emotion of Opening Day and fans back in the stands, the Phillies will take game one. But Morton will settle things down in game two and Anderson will clinch the series on Sunday.

Schedule