Philadelphia @ Atlanta preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 1, 2012 ) Philadelphia 5, Atlanta 1

It is a long shot at best, but the Philadelphia Phillies come into the afternoon before Labor Day with a flicker of hope. The Phillies are playing their best baseball of the season, having won 10 of their past 14 to pull within five games of .500. Philadelphia has closed to within eight games out of the final National League wild-card spot with 29 contests remaining. The Atlanta Braves are stumbling as September begins, a disturbing sign for a team that gave away the NL wild card in the final month of the 2011 season.

Atlanta has lost three games in a row and eight of its past 12. The Braves will look for Paul Maholm to rebound from two consecutive losses in Sunday's series finale. After missing Wednesday’s scheduled start with a stomach illness, Cole Hamels returns to the mound on Sunday. The left-hander has not pitched since a no-decision on Aug. 23 in Cincinnati.

TV: 5:05 p.m. ET, PHL 17 (Philadelphia), Fox Sports South (Atlanta).

PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies LH Cole Hamels (14-6, 2.99 ERA) vs. Braves LH Paul Maholm (11-9, 3.44).

In his past four starts, Hamels has allowed six earned runs with five walks and 25 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings. Hamels dominated the Braves with a complete-game shutout on Aug. 7. He followed that up with another complete-game shutout against Miami six days later.

Maholm has lost back-to-back starts, allowing six earned runs in 13 2/3 innings. The left-hander is 2-3 with a 2.45 ERA since being traded to Atlanta from the Cubs. In five starts with the Braves, Maholm has allowed more than two earned runs twice.

WALK-OFFS

1. Atlanta SS Andrelton Simmons, who has been sidelined since early July with a broken right pinkie finger, has been cleared to begin baseball activities. Simmons likely will play a handful of minor-league rehab games before rejoining the big-league roster.

2. Hamels is 12-7 lifetime against the Braves, with five of those victories coming at Turner Field.

3. Atlanta leads the season series 9-4.