The Phillies are now facing the prospect of getting swept in their own ballpark as they’ve lost the first two games of this series with the Braves by scores of 5-3 and 4-1. That leaves them not only five games back of Atlanta for second place in the NL East but also eight games back of first in the division. Not to mention the Phillies are now three games off the pace in the Wild Card chase.

The lack of offense we’ve seen from the Phillies these last two games is a bit concerning. But the team should have no concerns on the mound Thursday with Aaron Nola starting. Nola enters today with a 2.98 ERA and 0.89 WHIP. In his last four starts, he’s gone a total of 30 innings and allowed just three runs.

Yes, the Braves have gone 21-5 in June. But the Phillies are 18-8 and also 35-17 the last 52 times they’ve lost the first two games of a series.

Nola has had success in the past vs. Atlanta, going 13-8 with a 3.21 ERA in 26 starts. The last time he faced them was on May 26th. That game, which was in Atlanta, saw Nola go 8.3 innings and allow only one run on five hits. He also had 10 strikeouts. The Phillies ended up winning 4-1.

Ian Anderson is starting here for the Braves. His WHIP is a little concerning, especially the last three starts where that number is 1.704. Two of the three starts saw Anderson last just four innings and give up four runs. As hot as Atlanta has been, trust me that Nola will be the difference maker in this game.