2019 MLB Season: Breaking Down the Best Opening Day Matchups
By Ben Fadden
3. Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies
The Braves will be taking on the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia in what will be between two National League East Teams sure to be fighting for the division deep into September.
Julio Teheran will be making his sixth consecutive Opening Day start for Atlanta, and he will be opposing Phillies ace, Aaron Nola.
Aaron Nola finished third in National League Cy Young voting last year and will be making his second Opening Day start in a row.
Last season Nola posted a 2.37 ERA with 17 wins and 224 strikeouts and he will be looking to build on that for the 2019 MLB season.
He won’t have an easy task on Thursday because he will be facing a lineup that has added a couple of power bats.
The Braves signed former MVP Josh Donaldson to a 1-year contract worth $23 million to be their third basemen. They also signed ex-Braves backstop Brian McCann to split time behind the plate with Tyler Flowers.
Then, he still has to deal with the players who helped lead the Braves to the NL East crown last year including Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acuna Jr., Nick Markakis, and Freddie Freeman.
It won’t be a walk in the park for Julio Teheran as well. He will be the first opposing to pitcher to go up against the Phillies new faces in the regular season. Right out of the gate he will be pitching to Andrew McCutchen, Jean Segura, J.T. Realmuto, Rhys Hoskins, and not to mention a guy named Bryce Harper.
Out of their projected starters, there are three players hitting above .300 against Teheran including Harper who is hitting .433 with 6 home runs off of him.
It will be a show in Philadelphia in front of a sold-out crowd ready to see the revamped Phillies start their 2019 MLB season.
The next matchup is between a pair of American League Cy Young winners…