 in five games.Johan Camargo hit a three-run home run and Ender Inciarte, dropped from first to ninth in the order, tripled in a five-run third inning off Vince Velasquez (1-4) in the Braves' fourth win in five games.Brandon McCarthy (4-0) allowed one run and five hits while striking out six in 5 1/3 innings for his third win over Philadelphia this season.Aaron Altherr had three hits and scored on Maikel Franco's grounder the fourth in the Phillies' fourth loss in six games. Philadelphia is 3-6 against Atlanta this season.Velasquez has allowed 16 runs in three starts against Atlanta this season, all in matchups against McCarthy.Braves manager Brian Snitker overhauled his lineup in hopes of getting the struggling Inciarte going. And it immediately paid off.Albies crushed a 93 mph fastball to right for his ninth homer and Acuna doubled to right two pitches later.Inciarte tripled to right to lead off the decisive third that included Nick Markakis' two-run single and the 24-year-old Camargo's first homer, both coming with two outs.TRAINER'S ROOMBraves: RHP Julio Teheran, pulled from Friday's start with back pain, threw a bullpen session. ... C Kurt Suzuki stayed in after getting hit on the left hand by a pitch in the ninth.Phillies: Struggling SS J. P. Crawford was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right forearm strain and INF Jesmuel Valentin was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Crawford is hitting .214 and has five throwing errors. ''I think the time down could make him feel better overall,'' manager Gabe Kapler said. Scott Kingery replaced Crawford in the lineup.HERRERA STREAKPhillies CF Odubel Herrera drew two walks, extending his career-best on-base streak to 29 games.BIDDLE'S DAYBraves LHP Jesse Biddle, a Philadelphia native and former Phillies draft pick, doubled in a run off Luis Garcia in the ninth in his first major league plate appearance.UP NEXTBraves: After an off day in New York, LHP Sean Newcomb (1-1, 4.23 ERA) starts Tuesday night against Mets RHP Noah Syndergaard (2-0, 2.86).Phillies: RHP Jake Arrieta (3-0, 1.82) starts Monday night at Miami. Marlins RHP Dan Straily (right forearm strain) is scheduled to make his season debut.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
With McCarthy starting, Braves like chances vs. Phils 3h ago• 2 min read The Atlanta Braves have had one of the best offenses in baseball through the season's first month. Their bats have been especially potent when Brandon McCarthy is on the mound.The Braves have scored a National League-best 141 runs through 26 games, but they've averaged 7.7 runs per game in McCarthy's five starts. The right-hander will hope for that kind of backing again as the Braves try to win another series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.Atlanta is 4-1 in McCarthy's starts this season, including two victories over the Phillies. McCarthy has been solid in 2018, going at least five innings in all of his outings while compiling a 3.38 ERA.But the Braves have scored at least five runs every time McCarthy takes the mound.The Braves were leading the National League in nearly every offensive statistical category. They were topping the NL in runs, hits, RBIs, doubles, average and OPS thanks to contributions throughout the lineup."We've swung the bats well, scored some runs, and everyone is having a part of it," Braves manager Brian Snitker said Saturday. "We're not leaning on one guy. We're not depending on Freddie (Freeman) to do everything. A lot of guys are getting big hits and having really good at-bats, grinding out at-bats and doing good things offensively." McCarthy (3-0, 3.38 ERA) wasn't at his best in his latest outing. He gave up five runs (three earned) and six hits, including two homers, against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday in a 9-7 loss that was decided on a walk-off homer by Scooter Gennett in the 12th inning."I was so spotty command-wise today and with my execution," McCarthy told MLB.com after the start. "Sometimes it feels like that stuff is deserved because you're not doing enough to bully hitters and take over the game." McCarthy, who is 2-1 with a 2.64 ERA in five career starts against Philadelphia, will be seeing the Phillies for the third time this season, and he'll try to slow down Odubel Herrera.The Phillies center fielder is carrying a 28-game on-base streak and has been hitting the Braves hard in the series. Herrera is 3-for-8 in his last two games and hit two homers on Friday night.Herrera and the Phillies will try to back right-hander Vince Velasquez, who is making his third start against the Braves and McCarthy this season.Velasquez (1-3, 4.50 ERA) had a rough 2018 debut against Atlanta when he failed to get out of the third inning. He was better the second time around against the Braves, holding them to three runs in six innings.Velasquez -- who's 0-3 with a 3.89 career ERA against the Braves -- was pulled after surrendering four runs and four hits 4 2/3 innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday. He gave away the lead in the fifth inning of an eventual 8-4 loss."That's not the inning you want to have," Velasquez said. "The offense did a great job of coming back and I pretty much just gave it right to them. But you learn from this." The Braves, who are 5-3 against the Phillies this season, are going for their third series win against the divisional rival in as many tries. The Braves are 5-0 in rubber games so far this season.
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