Fastball

Atlanta Braves Pitching Staff on Historic Run as Playoff Run Intensifies

The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night as the historic run of the starting rotation continued.

Brady Farkas

Atlanta Braves pitcher Reynaldo Lopez (40) throws a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies during the second inning at Citizens Bank Park on Aug 30.
Atlanta Braves pitcher Reynaldo Lopez (40) throws a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies during the second inning at Citizens Bank Park on Aug 30. / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
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The Atlanta Braves topped the Philadelphia Phillies in a National League East showdown on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.

With the win, the Braves are now 74-61. The Phillies are 79-56. Atlanta is 5.0 games back of the Phillies in the National League East but still remains in firm grasp of the third and final wild card spot in the National League.

The Braves got a very solid start in the 7-2 win from right-hander Reynaldo Lopez, who went 6.0 innings to get the win. He gave up one run on four hits while walking one and striking out six. He's now 8-4 on the year with a 2.00 ERA.

The Lopez start continued an unbelievably historic run for the Braves rotation, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

Braves starting pitchers have allowed 3 runs or fewer in 19 straight games

that's their longest single-season streak since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893

h/t @EliasSports

What the Braves have done is all the more impressive considering that ace Spencer Strider is out for the season because of Tommy John surgery. With him gone, guys like Lopez have stepped up in a big way.

Offensively, Orlando Arcia hit two home runs in the win. Sean Murphy also connected for a blast.

The two teams will play again on Saturday night with first coming at 7:15 p.m. ET. Left-hander Max Fried will go for Atlanta while Zack Wheeler will pitch for the Phillies. Fried is 8-7 while Wheeler is 12-6.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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