Braves seek to expand NL East lead in series with PhilliesFLMThe Atlanta Braves see this upcoming series with Philadelphia as a chance to continue to further pad their lead in the National League East, while the Phillies view it as opportunity to get back in the race.The Braves hold a 5 1/2-game lead over Philadelphia in the division after trailing the Phillies by three games at the end of May. Atlanta went 20-8 in June, winning 20 games in a calendar month for the first time since August 2013, and flipped the standings in the East. The Phillies went 11-16 in June and lost five of six to the cellar-dwelling Miami Marlins.The three-game series begins on Tuesday at SunTrust Park in Atlanta. The Braves will send left-hander Dallas Keuchel (1-1, 5.06 ERA) in the opener. Philadelphia had not announced its starter.The Phillies (44-40) dropped two of three games at Miami to open their nine-game road trip that will lead them to the All-Star Game. They beat the Marlins 13-6 on Sunday.The Braves (50-35) suffered another bullpen meltdown on Sunday in New York, allowing the Mets to score five runs in the eighth inning for an 8-5 win. Atlanta completed their road trip with a 6-4 record.The Phillies are trying to lessen the pressure with a "try a little easier" approach.Philadelphia manager Gabe Kapler said, "Baseball is not a try-harder sport. You try harder and things don't get better." And right fielder Bryce Harper is ready for the calendar to turn to July."If we get a new month, then everybody's going to be positive, of course," Harper said. "That's baseball. You have your ups and downs during the season. Hopefully you have more ups than downs, you win more series than you lose and get a winning record at the end of the year." Philadelphia has a couple of nagging injuries to deal with. Catcher J. T. Realmuto left Sunday's game early with left hamstring tightness and outfielder Jay Bruce missed his second straight game with a sore left elbow. Bruce said the elbow does not bother him at the plate but hurts him in the field.The problem in Atlanta continues to be the bullpen, particularly late in the game. On Sunday, with closer Luke Jackson unavailable because of a heavy workload, left-handers Sean Newcomb and A. J. Minter were unable to hold a two-run lead.The relief staff took a hit on Sunday when Anthony Swarzak was placed on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Since being acquired from Seattle on May 20, Swarzak had allowed only one run in 17 1/3 innings and had not allowed a run in his last 13 appearances."Just some inflammation in his shoulder," Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. "Nothing structural, nothing bad. Hopefully with time off he'll be good to go in San Diego after the break." The Braves are hopeful that Monday's off day will benefit the bullpen and that Keuchel will pitch deep into the game and save some arms.Keuchel beat the Chicago Cubs in his last start on June 26. He pitched 5 2/3 innings and gave up three runs on eight hits, three walks and two strikeouts. This will be his third career start against Philadelphia; he's 1-0 with a 0.73 ERA but hasn't faced the Phillies since 2014.--Field Level Media
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