Braves' upcoming series vs. Phillies is as make-or-break as it gets

Philadelphia Phillies v Atlanta Braves
Philadelphia Phillies v Atlanta Braves | Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/GettyImages

The Atlanta Braves are set to travel to Philadelphia for the first time this season for what is the beginning of a crucial stretch of games for Atlanta. The Bravos took the only series the two NL East foes have played thus far way back in early April, but the two teams have gone two completely different directions since then.

Because of the early hole the Braves dug for themselves, most of the season has felt like an uphill battle for them. While they have gotten over the .500 mark recently, another poor showing against the Padres has dropped Atlanta to 25-27 on the season.

Meanwhile the Phillies are streaking, winning 9 of their last ten ballgames and vaulting to the top of the NL East standings. Kyle Schwarber is tied with Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani for the league lead in home runs, and stars like Bryce Harper and Trea Turner continue to produce now into their early-30's. If the Braves want to turn their season around, a good showing against the Phillies would be a nice place to start.

Braves need the bats to show up against a tough Phillies rotation

The Phillies currently own the fourth best ERA in the National League at 3.72. Meanwhile the Braves have the fifth worst team batting average .232 on the road in the National League. The return of Ronald Acuña Jr. helps of course, but the Braves need Ozzie Albies to continue his ascension as well as production from guys like Matt Olson and Austin Riley.

Matt Olson and Marcell Ozuna have both found the power stroke as of late, and the rest of the lineup churning out good at-bats should help the Braves begin to look like the offense we all expected them to be this season.

Atlanta will counter this series by throwing Spencer Strider, AJ Smith-Shawver, and Chris Sale. The pitching performances will dictate a lot this series, but the stars in the Braves' lineup rising to the occasion would definitely be a welcome addition.

Now that we are approaching the end of May, the old excuse of "there's still a lot of baseball to play," is wearing thin fast. The Braves enter this series 8.5 games back of Philadelphia, and a poor showing in Citizens Bank Park could doom their NL East hopes. Let's keep our fingers crossed that the team comes out swinging and is able to get some momentum on their side as they embark on a crucial stretch of the season.

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