Atlanta @ Philadelphia preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 6, 2011 ) Atlanta 3, Philadelphia 6

THE STORY: The Philadelphia Phillies are showing no signs of pulling their foot off the throttle. With a fifth consecutive National League East title in sight, Charlie Manuel's club scored 15 runs en route to winning the first two contests of their three-game set against the rival Atlanta Braves. With a 9 1/2-game lead in the division, the Phillies' magic number has been reduced to 14 with 24 contests remaining heading into Wednesday's series finale in Philadelphia. Atlanta has dropped four of its last five to see its lead in the wild-card race fall to 7 1/2 games over the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, ESPN, CS Philadelphia, FS South, PTV (Atlanta)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Brandon Beachy (7-2, 3.37 ERA) vs. Phillies RH Roy Oswalt (7-8, 3.80).

Beachy has been on quite the roll. The 25-year-old has won his last four decisions and hasn't lost since July 19. Beachy permitted three runs on four hits in six innings in his last start Friday, but settled for a no-decision against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Despite his impressive record overall, Beachy has dropped all three of his career decisions to the Phillies - including one in April. Oswalt collected his third win in four decisions with a solid outing against the Florida Marlins on Friday. The veteran yielded three runs and struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings. Oswalt has struggled against the Braves, but posted his one career win in four decisions against them this season. He allowed only two runs in six innings to pick up the victory in April.

ABOUT THE BRAVES (82-59): Dan Uggla had been struggling against the Phillies heading into Tuesday's contest. Twenty-one strikeouts in his last 49 at-bats is evidence of that. Well, Uggla certainly did his part Tuesday by belting his team-leading 33rd homer of the season and driving in a pair of runs, but the Braves dropped a 6-3 decision. The blast also extended Uggla's hitting streak to 10 games, but he is only 3-for-22 in his career with eight strikeouts against Oswalt. Chipper Jones returned after a one-game absence because of flu-like symptoms and went 2-for-4. With Jones back manning third base, Martin Prado returned to his position in left field. Prado struggled mightily at third base in Jones' absence.

ABOUT THE PHILLIES (90-48): Although he was eligible to return from the disabled list, shortstop Jimmy Rollins remained a spectator Tuesday. Rollins is nursing a groin strain, and the Phillies brass isn't willing to push the former MVP back into the lineup before he's ready. "I think it's going to be a day-to-day thing as to when he's going to be ready, and ready to go," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "But he's getting closer." Raul Ibanez collected three hits and three RBIs on Tuesday to continue his torrid streak. The veteran slugger has raised his average from .236 to .246 over his last seven games. Ryan Howard is heating up at the right time. The slugger collected his 12th RBI in 10 games and also scored twice Tuesday. Although he has been hot, Howard is only 3-for-11 in his career versus Beachy.

FINAL PITCH: Luis Salazar returned to the Braves' dugout nearly six months after losing his left eye following a line drive in spring training. Salazar is serving as an extra coach on manager Fredi Gonzalez's staff.