— The Phillies get the Braves in Philadelphia for three

ATLANTA games to end the regular season Willie McCovey Jersey , but it may not matter after the teams’ four-game series at SunTrust Park starting Thursday night.The Braves’ magic number to win the National League East is down to six and that means they can clinch before the Phillies leave Atlanta on Sunday.The Braves (84-68) snapped a four-game losing streak by beating St. Louis 7-3 on Wednesday to remain 5 1/2 games ahead of Philadelphia (78-73).Article continues below ...The Phillies are 6-11 in September, but won their second straight series Wednesday by beating the New York Mets 4-0.The Braves are only 10-8 this month despite a recent six-game winning streak, but first baseman Freddie Freeman appears to be out of his funk.Freeman had a second straight three-hit game against the Cardinals and blasted his 23rd homer while driving in three runs.Freeman was an NL MVP candidate before he hit .195 with one homer and a .584 OPS over a 22-game stretch from Aug. 16-Sept. 7. Now it looks like he could be a difference-maker again.The All-Star goes into the Philadelphia series batting .405 with two home runs and nine RBIs over his past 11 games.“I’ve been feeling better lately and hopefully I can continue that,” Freeman said.The Braves have had Vince Velasquez’s number and he will start the series opener for the Phillies, with Atlanta calling on fellow right-hander Kevin Gausman.Velasquez (9-11, 4.50 ERA) is 0-4 with a 7.41 ERA in four starts against the Braves this season and 0-5 with a 4.60 ERA in eight career outings.Velasquez also lasted only two innings in his most recent start Saturday against Miami and is 1-3 with a 7.52 ERA in his last seven outings.Gausman (10-10, 3.92 ERA) was acquired by the Braves from Baltimore at the end of July and is 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA in eight starts with his new team.Gausman’s only career outing against Philadelphia came July 12 while with the Orioles and he took a loss, allowing five runs and 12 hits in five innings.The Braves have won seven of the 12 games against the Phillies this season, going 4-2 at home and 3-3 on the road.Nine of the games came in April and the other three in May, meaning that this series in Atlanta and the one to end the regular season in Philadelphia have been pointed to for months.“We have a chance to control our own destiny,” Phillies left fielder Rhys Hoskins said after hitting his 32nd homer in the series finale against the Mets. “Win games and we’ve got a chance to be in the playoffs.”The Phillies may have fallen a little too far off the Braves’ pace, though.“I think what we need … to buy into is what we can control is our work right now,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. “That is going to give us our best chance to stay in this as long as possible. … But I don’t think it makes a whole lot of sense to look too far out.”Philadelphia juggled its rotation a while ago to make sure that Cy Young Award candidate Aaron Nola was available to pitch this weekend and next. Former Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta is also set to go for the Phillies.“It’s going to be a big series, a fun series,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We’re getting all their top guys and we’re running our top guys at them.” Scores, news, and notes from around the Detroit Tigers’ farm system for Thursday, April 4, 2019."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Detroit Tigers AnalysisDetroit Tigers Prospect NotebookDetroit Tigers Game ThreadsDetroit Tigers NewsDetroit Tigers PodcastsDetroit Tigers Prospect NotebookMinor League RecapsTigers prospect Casey Mize dominates on minor league Opening DayNew,23commentsScores Mel Ott Jersey , news, and notes from around the Detroit Tigers’ farm system for Thursday, April 4, 2019.EDTShareTweetShareShareTigers prospect Casey Mize dominates on minor league Opening DayToledo Mud Hens 10, Louisville Bats 5 (box)On Opening Day at Fifth Third Field, Kyle Funkhouser had a rocky go of it in his third start at the Triple-A level. Fortunately, his teammates picked him up with a fierce rally in the late innings to send the chilly Toledo faithful home happy. Funkhouser escaped a minor jam right out of the gate, racking up three strikeouts in the first inning. However, a pair of walks and an error on shortstop Willi Castro led to a two-run inning for the Bats in the second. Funkhouser wasn’t slated to go deep in this one, but made the point moot by requiring 77 pitches to get through three frames. The Bats scored single runs off Caleb Thielbar in the fourth and fifth, and tacked on one more against Sandy Baez, who struggled with his control.The Hens were down 4-0 when they began to turn things around with a three-run fifth inning. Brandon Dixon and Willi Castro got things started with singles, before Dawel Lugo doubled in Dixon for the Hens’ first run. Jacob Robson followed with a bullet to right field that went for a two-run double to narrow the Bats’ lead to one. Things finally bent in Toledo’s favor as they took three walks in the seventh inning to load the bases with one out. Danny Woodrow nearly cleared the bases with a double to right, plating two runs before Daz Cameron was thrown out at the plate trying to add a third to the Hens’ tally. A two-out single by Ronny Rodriguez brought Woodrow in to score, and Victor Reyes followed with a triple to make it 8-5 in favor of the Hens. They added on from there, and reliever Jose Cisnero picked up a four-out save that included three punchouts.Robson: 1-2, 2 RBI, 2B, 2 R, 2 BB http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , SBWoodrow: 2-5, 2B, R, 2 RBI, SBFunkhouser: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 SOOn top of his RBI double, Jacob Robson also flew out to the wall against the wind in his first at-bat. Our own Kenon Carter was on the scene and captured a clip for us.Here’s a little funk from Kyle Funkhouser as well.Coming up next: Ryan Carpenter will get the ball as the Hens and Bats get back at it on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. ET.Lakeland Flying Tigers 4, Tampa Tarpons 3 (F/10) (box)Casey Mize’s season debut went very well on Thursday as Florida State League action kicked off. Mize took a perfect game into the fifth inning, ultimately allowing just one single while punching out eight in a dominant five-inning outing. Burris Warner allowed two runs in the seventh to give the Tarpons the lead after six scoreless innings from both teams. The Flying Tigers finally put a run on the board in the eighth, only to see Ethan DeCaster surrender a run in the top of the ninth. Down 3-1 with a scuffling offense, things didn’t look great, but the Flying Tigers had a rally in them. Kody Clemens led off the bottom of the ninth by drawing a walk. Daniel Reyes followed with the big blow of the game, a home run to left field that tied the score at three apiece. After Will Vest held off the Tarpons in the 10th inning, it was Brady Policelli who came through with a RBI single to walk off the Tarpons.Here’s a look at Reyes’ two-run, game tying blast.James Chipman, who scouts for 24/7 Sports, was on hand and very much liked what he saw from Mize. Notable that the slurve he worked on this offseason doesn’t appear to have been in evidence on Thursday.Reyes: 1-4 Matt Williams Jersey , HR, R, 2 RBI, SOClemens: 0-3, R, BB, 2 SOMize: 5.0 IP, H, 0 ER, 8 SOComing up next: The Tarpons and Flying Tigers lock up again at Publix Field on Friday night, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. ET.South Bend Cubs 5, West Michigan Whitecaps 4 (box)Key prospects Parker Meadows and Wenceel Perez got off to a solid start as Midwest League play got underway in South Bend on Thursday night, but the Caps’ pitchers didn’t fare so well. Starter Adam Wolf surrendered eight hits and three runs in three innings of work, with only one strikeout to his credit. The lefty gave way to Xavier Javier, who was rather wild and allowed two more runs, including the eventual game-winner, over two innings pitched.The Whitecaps briefly had a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning when Jordan Pearce doubled home Nick Ames and Jeremiah Burks. They were on the verge of blowing the game open when they loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth, but Cubs reliever Peyton Remy bore down and escaped unscathed.Catcher Sam McMillan did launch a solo shot to left in the sixth inning to close the deficit to one run. In the ninth, Parker Meadows led off with a single, but was erased by a double play ball off the bat of Jose King. Shortstop Wenceel Perez wouldn’t let things go so easily. Perez walked http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , stole second base, and then raced home as Cubs shortstop Andy Weber threw away a Nick Ames grounder. Unfortunately, the rally ran out of steam right there.McMillan: 1-3, HR, R, RBI, BB, SOPerez: 1-4, R, BB, 2 SO, SB, CSWolf (L, 0-1): 3.0 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, SOComing up next: Wilkel Hernandez gets the ball for the Whitecaps on Friday night. He will take on Eury Ramos and the Cubs with first pitch set for 7:35 p.m. ET.Erie SeaWolves: off dayThe SeaWolves kick off their season on Friday evening against the Trenton Thunder at 6:05 p.m. ET. Righthander Matt Manning will get the start.