Braves Prepare for Saturday Night Pitching Duel Versus Phillies

The Atlanta Braves need a win tonight.

Sitting at five games back of the Philadelphia Phillies after blowing a 4-0 lead in game one , Atlanta teed off on Christopher Sanchez and took game two behind two Orlando Arcia homers to tie the series at one game each. Tonight's must-win matchup doesn't portend to be much easier, with ace Max Fried (8-7, 3.50) matching up against Cy Young candidate Zack Wheeler (12-6, 2.74).

Lineups for the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday August 31st

Here's how the Braves will line up for the contest:

2B Whit Merrifield
RF Jorge Soler
DH Marcell Ozuna
1B Matt Olson
C Travis d'Arnaud
CF Michael Harris II
SS Orlando Arcia
LF Ramón Laureano
3B Gio Urshela

Fried's making his fourth start of the season against Philly, looking to "right the ship", so to speak. He's 0-1 with 10 earned runs allowed in 13.2 innings, but wasn't bad in his last outing against Philadelphia. On August 21st, Fried went seven innings with two runs allowed on four hits, striking out four and walking just one. He'll have to be cautious of shortstop Trea Turner, however - the speedster is batting .351 with three homers and seven RBI off of Fried in 37 career at-bats.

Here's how Philly will deploy their hitters for tonight's matchup:

DH Kyle Schwarber
SS Trea Turner
1B Bryce Harper
RF Nick Castellanos
C J.T. Realmuto
LF Austin Hays
3B Weston Wilson
2B Edmundo Sosa
CF Johan Rojas

Wheeler's looking to keep his Cy Young-worthy season rolling against Atlanta. In two starts against the Braves this year, he's 0-1 with just two runs allowed in twelve innings, striking out thirteen with no walks. He does need to watch former teammate Whit Merrifield, however - the second baseman is batting .333 with a .916 OPs across twelve at-bats this season.

How to Watch the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, August 31st

Tonight's broadcast is scheduled for a 7:15 PM ET first pitch and is airing nationally on Fox.