Now that the Atlanta Braves have completed their climb from the bottom to the top of the NL East, they’d like to extend their lead as they face division-rival Philadelphia Phillies. Tonight’s game starts at 7:10 PM ET and is the second in a three-game series.

Last night’s win vaulted the Atlanta Braves (29-22, 17-6 home) over the Phillies giving them top spot in the division. As recently as May 17, the Braves were the last team in the division sitting seven games back from Philadelphia. Their stretch of good play coincided perfectly with Philadelphia’s struggles and they’ve managed the improbable in taking the lead.

Chipper Jones had a two-run homer to set the tone in the first. Jones is hitting .340 in his career against the Phillies. His 44 career home runs versus Philadelphia is the most home runs he’s had against any team in baseball.

After going .194 in April, Troy Glaus capped off a much improved May in which he went .330 with a three-run homer.

A lack of run production is the main reason that the Philadelphia Phillies (28-22, 15-12 away) have fallen out of the top spot in the NL East. They have been shut out in five of their last eight games and have dropped nine of thirteen.

Ryan Howard’s play is symptomatic of the team’s struggles. The former MVP first baseman has a measly four hits in his last nine games.

Getting the call for Philadelphia is Cole Hamels (5-3, 3.82 ERA). Hamels dropped his first two career starts against the Phillies, but has been stellar since going 8-2 with a 3.70 ERA in 13 starts.

Tim Hudson (5-1, 2.24 ERA) will be starting for Atlanta. Hudson can blame the batters for his 0-5 career record versus the Phillies. He’s been getting just 1.70 runs while his ERA versus Philadelphia is 4.01. His lone loss this season came against the Phillies when Atlanta’s offense couldn’t muster a single run.

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