Preview, Magic Number Braves vs Phillies Series

The Atlanta Braves host the Philadelphia Phillies over the weekend for a crucial three-game series that will play a part in deciding the National League East.

Heading into the weekend, the Braves have a four-game lead over the Phillies. Both dropped two out of three during the weekend against their respectie opponets. The same cushion remains as it did entering and finishing off the previous series.

Consider this your TV guide for this series. Here is everything you need to know.

How to Watch Braves vs Phillies

Getting set up for this series is simple. This entire series is on BravesVision. In the Philadelphia market, the series is on NBCSP (NBC Sports Philadelphia).

BravesVision is available on DirecTV, Xfinity, Fubo, Spectrum and U-Verse. It's also available via a subscription online through Braves.TV.

Magic Number for Division

With the Braves' win and the Phillies' loss on Thursday, the magic number was cut down to 11, according to MLB.com's standings. A combination of 11 wins and losses between the two would give the Braves the division title.

Each win this weekend in a head-to-head cuts the magic number by two. If the Braves were to complete a sweep, for example, the magic number for the division would shrink to five.

Probable Starters

• Friday, Sept. 11: Chris Sale (14-9, 2.10 ERA)  vs. Aaron Nola (6-10, 4.76 ERA) 
• Saturday, Sept. 12: Tyler Mahle (5-10, 4.05 ERA) vs. Jesús Luzardo (14-5, 2.87 ERA) 
• Sunday, Sept. 13: Grant Holmes (9-5, 3.46 ERA) vs. Andrew Painter (3-9, 5.71 ERA) 

Each pitcher in this series is getting their second consecutive start against the Phillies.

The Braves' ace, Chris Sale, is set for another big start. While facing Nola isn't the same big matchup it used to be, it's the implications of this start that keep it high-level. This will helps push a division rival back that much further. Winning a duel he's supposed to gets the Braves closer to the crown.

Mahle enters Saturday with a 1.24 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP across six starts for the Braves. He's been one of the top starters since the deadline, and he's right on cue to help win another series.

Holmes pitched six scoreless innings against the Phillies in a losing effort back on Monday. The Braves lost 1-0 in a game that lasted one hour and 51 minutes, and the series ended in a split.

Over his last seven starts, Holmes has been one of the Braves' top starters, pitching to a 2.27 ERA and a 1.06 with 23 strikeouts.

Enjoy our content? Make BravesOnSI a Preferred Source to see more stories from us on Google: https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=si.com