National League division leaders, one with more at stake than the other, go head-to-head Friday night when the Atlanta Braves and host San Francisco Giants open a three-game series.
Atlanta (76-68) will kick off the series with a three-game lead in the NL East over second-place Philadelphia (74-72), an advantage that shrunk by a half-game Thursday night as the Braves were flying across the country while the Phillies were beating the Chicago Cubs.
The Braves were rained out at home against the Colorado Rockies earlier in the afternoon, which benefitted the East leaders in that it gave each of their pitchers an extra day of rest entering the showdown series.