Braves vs. Phillies: Crucial MLB Rivalry Heats Up in Atlanta

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00:00The Braves more than likely not catching the Phillies down by

00:06seven games atop the National League East, but it's still an

00:09incredibly important divisional rivalry that starts this week

00:13in Atlanta. A great pitching matchup in game number one.

00:17It's Wheeler versus Lopez. Zach Wheeler versus Reinaldo Lopez

00:21on the other side for Atlanta. As we compare these two teams

00:25as of this moment, Craig, the Phil's minus 1600 to win the

00:29National League East. Again, that would snap a six-year

00:31streak for the Braves atop this division. How much significance

00:35do you put into this midweek set in the ATL?

00:39Well, look, they're taking it very seriously. You mentioned

00:41the matchup tonight.

00:42I mean, you have Max Fried and Aaron Nolan tomorrow, Ben.

00:45So, I mean, this is going to be three games of really good

00:47matchups here. As far as like picking a winner or an outcome,

00:51it's middle of August.

00:52It's really difficult to do. You're going to see minus 120s

00:55or minus 130s. That means it's a competitive series. You look

00:58around the rest of the league in baseball, you're seeing minus

01:00200s, 250s, etc. So, I just think it'll be a fun series.

01:04Look, I'm curious. Reinaldo Lopez has been banged up a little

01:07bit. He is back now pitching for the Braves. So, you know,

01:10for the Braves, they're hoping, of course, that he can be a

01:12major factor in any postseason run for them. But I don't know

01:15that this is necessarily going to be another preview of a

01:18series that we're going to see because we've seen it in the

01:20National League now a couple of times, but really enjoyable

01:23to see two teams fighting so hard at this stage of the year.

01:26Same thing in the American League today, Craig. We get

01:28underway in the Bronx. That's the Cleveland Guardians and

01:30the New York Yankees. Boyd and Heal on the mound today. Favorite

01:33minus 148 live at the Fandula Sportsbook, but also two teams

01:36looking to stay in first place and getting pressure from

01:39either the second place team, like the Baltimore Orioles

01:41going up against the Yankees. Really a plethora of teams,

01:43it feels like now, in the Central Division. How are we looking

01:46at this series for the Guardians and the Yankees?

01:49Yeah, look, I think the Guardians do match up well against

01:51New York and, you know, very intelligent front office and

01:54pitching staff. You're going to see a lot of pitching around

01:56some of these guys. I would imagine this week, Jose Ramirez

01:59always a factor. I would play him to hit a home run or two

02:02in this series. He always steps up in the biggest moments

02:04for them. But I think the real story is for me is sitting

02:07here on all of these shows on SportsGrid and being asked

02:10about the Yankees, their demise. They're not going and they're

02:13they have the best record in the American League. I mean

02:15these Yankees fans will never be satisfied with anything.

02:19I mean, yeah, they had a tough run. Like I told you guys

02:21earlier in the season, but in the end, they're going to

02:23make it. They're going to win their 90-something games,

02:25and they're right at the top with everybody else. So as

02:27long as they can figure out how to get outs in the ninth

02:30inning, which I think is going to have to change for them,

02:32Donnie, I don't think that they're going to use Klay Holmes

02:34in the postseason in the ninth. But for now, they'll roll

02:36it. Yeah, until it gets real serious and then they're going

02:39to have to mix and match for the time being. Another good

02:41series though this week.

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