Phillies vs. Braves: Who to Watch
The Position Player: Brandon Phillips
Although Phillips has been significantly cool during the last week or so, he has had his way with Phillies pitchers this season. In 45 at bats against the Phils this season, he has slashed .400/.426/.556 with four doubles and a homer.
He has four hits in eight at bats off Jerad Eickhoff and two in three at bats off Zach Eflin. Two of the four against Eickhoff are for extra bases. He will look to continue his success against both of them in his home ballpark this time around.
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The veteran second baseman has been better at SunTrust Park this season than on the road. He has an .833 OPS when at home that includes a .487 slugging percentage. Seven of his eight homeruns have come in Atlanta. He is obviously very comfortable playing there.
Anyone who has watched Phillips throughout his career knows that his glove can be a game-changer.
He makes every play look easy and can take away hits/runs on anything hit to the right side of the field.
As the 36 year old gets ready to complete his 15th season in the bigs, the Phillies look to control his bat. He loves to hit fastballs. Eflin and Eickhoff do not live off their fastballs, but rather try to fool hitters with breaking and offspeed pitches. While Phillips does not struggle with those, he is much more likely to feast on fastballs in the zone than the secondary stuff.