Atlanta BravesAtlanta Braves vs. Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia Phillies Pick Center

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Phillies look to continue success against Braves 45m ago• 2 min read PHILADELPHIA -- If the Philadelphia Phillies played the Atlanta Braves every night, they might just be a playoff team.Of the Phillies' major-league-worst 49 wins this year, nearly a quarter have come against the Braves.A 6-1 Phillies victory over the Braves on Monday night in the opening of a three-game series was Philadelphia's 12th in 14 games this year between the clubs (.857), and seventh in a row."I wish we played them every night," Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp said. "I don't think our mentality's any different than when anybody else comes to town, but it seems like we have their number this year." If the current rate continues, it would be the most one-sided the division rivalry has ever been.Back in 1977, when Atlanta was still in the NL West and there were only 12 teams in the league, the Phillies won 10 of the 12 games the two teams played (.833).The Braves (57-72) will turn to right-hander R. A. Dickey (8-8, 4.06 ERA) on Tuesday night to try to stop the skid, as the veteran knuckleballer goes for his third win of the month.He hasn't been as successful his past two starts, giving up eight runs in 12 innings (6.00 ERA) against the Cincinnati Reds and Seattle Mariners, allowing 19 hits between those two outings.Dickey has faced the Phillies (49-81) twice already this season, going 1-0 with a 0.64 ERA. His last time facing them, on July 30, he surrendered only six singles and an unearned run in seven innings, though the Phillies won 2-1 on a Freddy Galvis single in the bottom of the ninth."I kept guessing them a few times," Dickey told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after that win. "I had good, late movement. I had a swing-and-miss knuckleball today. I kept trying to attack the zone. (Catcher Kurt Suzuki) did a good job back there with a really good knuckleball. There were a couple that no one is going to catch. They just break too violently." For his career, Dickey is 6-5 with a 2.76 ERA in 15 starts against the Phillies.When Dickey made his major league debut back in 2001, Mark Leiter Sr. was in the last season of his 11-year major league career. Now, as the 42-year-old Dickey enters the twilight of his own professional career, he will go up against Mark Leiter Jr., in his first season in the majors.Leiter (2-3) will be making the sixth start of his rookie season -- he also has 16 relief appearances -- as he tries to prove he belongs in the Phillies' five-man rotation.His last time out, Leiter shut out the Marlins for seven innings of one-hit ball last Wednesday, lowering his ERA to 3.86 in his best performance yet. He had a no-hitter going through five innings, striking out five of the first six batters his faced and then inducing ground ball after ground ball to frustrate the Miami lineup."Just trying to command the strike zone, get ahead early," he said. "It's the big leagues, so you have to be good every time. Every lineup can hurt you, and you've got to execute." Phillies manager Pete Mackanin added after that game, "When he first came on the scene, he was a little wild. Then he started settling down and had some easy outings. ... He just did a great job today, used all his pitches effectively, and you couldn't ask for more." The Tuesday game will be Leiter's first career outing against the Braves.

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