Braves get another shot at Phillies RHP Pivetta

The Philadelphia Phillies can't seem to lose with Nick Pivetta on the mound this season. The Atlanta Braves will have their third chance to beat him Saturday evening.

Pivetta will face Braves righty Mike Foltynewicz at 6:05 p.m. ET in the middle game of a three-game set at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies are 5-0 when Pivetta starts this season. That mark includes two wins against Atlanta in games started by Foltynewicz, even though Pivetta's two shortest outings of 2018 have come when facing Atlanta.

Pivetta (1-0, 2.57 ERA) has 28 strikeouts in 28 innings, and he has allowed just 24 hits, four walks and eight runs so far this season. Pivetta was shaky in his season debut against the Braves, giving up three runs in four innings. He has a 1.88 ERA in his four starts since then.

Pivetta limited the Braves to one run over five innings when he saw them again April 17. He then held the Pirates to two runs on five hits and struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings during his latest outing last Sunday.

"I just feel like I'm learning as I go along and having more consistent counts, getting ahead of guys and being able to put them away," Pivetta told the Philadelphia Inquirer after his last game.

Pivetta, who had a 6.02 ERA as a rookie last season, is 3-0 with a 2.77 ERA and 1.192 WHIP in five career starts against the Braves.

Foltynewicz (1-1, 2.77) does not have a win against the Phillies in two outings this season, but he has struck plenty of Philadelphia hitters out. Foltynewicz has 15 strikeouts in 11 innings against the Phillies in 2018, and his 11.4 strikeouts-per-nine-innings rate for the season ranked fifth in the National League as of Friday.

The 26-year-old had seven strikeouts in his last start, but Foltynewicz struggled with his command in a short outing against the Reds. He walked four batters while giving up two runs on three hits in 4 2/3 innings last Monday in an Atlanta loss.

"At the end of the day, I just didn't do my job as a starter," Foltynewicz, who has made it past the fifth inning in only two of his five starts, told MLB.com after the start. "This year, it seems like I've been scratching and clawing just to get to the fifth inning. It's a little embarrassing. I let the team down and let the bullpen down tonight. They had a lot to pick up."

Offensively, the Braves have been sparked by Ronald Acuna Jr., the 20-year-old outfielder who was called up earlier in the week. Acuna has six hits in his first three major league games, and he went 2-for-4 on Friday night with an RBI double.

The Phillies are looking to even the season series against the Braves and also capture their first series win of the season against their National League East foe. The Braves are 4-3 against the Phillies this season and won two early season series in Atlanta.