Phillies fall flat and lose 2/3 to a middling Braves team
If the Braves had the worst record in the league, you wouldn’t have known that based on what happened in this series. On a frustrating Tuesday evening, in a game started by Zack Wheeler and Chris Sale, 10 runs were scored through the first six innings as both starters didn’t have their best stuff. Nick Castellanos would start the scoring in the first with a single that drove home Alec Bohm. In his first start in left field, Edmundo Sosa would make an incredible play to keep the Braves off the board in the first inning, when he would reach over the wall and rob Marcell Ozuna of a homerun. However, in the second inning, Sosa’s inexperience would cause some problems as a routine fly ball would fall between him and Johan Rojas. It is hard to blame Sosa in that situation, though, as Rojas is the experienced center fielder and should have taken control of the situation. Being that this is baseball, of course, the Phillies would pay for such a bad play. Zach Wheeler would then walk the nine-hole hitter, Jarred Kelenic, in an extended at bat, and then Sean Murphy would deposit the second pitch he saw from Wheeler into the left field bleachers.
The Phillies, doing something they have done well so far this year, would respond immediately to the Braves in the top of the third. Trea Turner and Bryce Harper would both single and then Kyle Schwarber would bring them both home on a near homerun, turned triple. He would then be driven in by Nick Castellanos, who doubled to center field, and the Phillies would take the lead right back, 4-3. Things would hold steady until the fifth when Kyle Schwarber did- Kyle Schwarber things, giving the Phillies a 5-3 lead by taking Chris Sale deep in a way only Schwarber can, hitting it 462ft with an exit velocity of 116.7mph. That would hold until the sixth inning when the Braves would tag Zack Wheeler for two more runs, one of which scored with Matt Strahm on the mound, but was his responsibility. It was an off night for the Phillies ace, and the Braves would tag Orion Kerkering for one run in the seventh and Tanner Banks in the eighth for another, and that would be the ball game, 7-5.
While less of an offensive explosion, Wednesday night would prove equally exciting, back-and-forth baseball. Taijuan Walker would again pitch very well. While not as efficient as he was last week, he still did not allow a run through 4.2 innings and struck out five. However, mid-level starter Grant Holmes was equally effective for the Braves, and the game would remain scoreless until the sixth. The Phillies would finally threaten and make the game 1-0 when Bryson Stott would hit a ball to second baseman Ozzie Albies who would make a great play to get to the ball, but ultimately misplay the ball and Max Kepler, who was on second base, did not stop running until he was home. The Braves would rally right back in the bottom half, tagging José Ruiz for two on an Orlando Arcia single and Michael Harris II sacrifice fly to take the lead, 2-1. The Phillies would respond immediately in the seventh when Trea Turner would single, and Bryce Harper would crush his second home run of the year and first since opening day to put the Phillies back up 3-2. Phillies killer, Austin Riley, would then tie it himself 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh, taking Joe Ross deep.
In the bottom of the 8th, Rob Thomson send a message that he wanted to win this game as with two outs and a runner on first with Michael Harris II at the plate, Thomson brought in José Alvarado for what (spoiler alert) would turn into a four out save as he got Harris II to ground out. In the top of the ninth, Braves closer Raisel Iglesias came in to keep the game tied. He would strike out Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, and Alec Bohm. However, in between those strikeouts, Trea Turner would pop him for a solo shot to make the game 4-3. That would be ball game as while the Braves threatened in the ninth, Alvarado shut the door.
While ominous storm clouds would circle overhead, the Phillies and Braves would square up for the series wrap-up. Both Spencer Schwellenbach and Jesús Luzardo were dominant, with the Phillies’ lefty going six innings and striking out six. His only blemish would be a first inning run to give the Braves the lead 1-0. Schwellenbach had not allowed a run in 2025, but that changed in the third inning when Kyle Schwarber deposited yet another Schwarbomb to center field. The game would be a pitching duel until the heavens opened up, and a delay of nearly three hours ensued solely because the Braves organization is stupid and is scared to create traffic during the daytime in the area of their stadium. So what should have been a game played at 1 in the afternoon turned into a game that didn’t nearly end until 1 am. When the rain stopped, the Phillies seemed more focused on getting on their flight to St. Louis than finishing the game, as they did not get a single hit the rest of the night. They would take the lead 2-1 in the 11th from an absolute cluster of an inning for Braves pitching that saw the Phillies not even record a hit, but that would be short-lived. Joe Ross would come in and immediately allow a double to Austin Riley, who was batting just about at the Mendoza Line when this series started, which allowed Ozzie Albies to score. Marcell Ozuna would then immediately deposit a ball over the left center field wall, and the game was over. The Phillies lose 4-2. The offense did manage eight walks, but ultimately only seven hits, one run, and ten strikeouts.
A very frustrating yet entertaining series for the Phillies as a few trends begin to emerge as we are 1/14th through the season, both positive and negative. The starting pitching is very good, despite some hiccups. This group is more than capable of being a top-end rotation in the league and should have the horses to carry it through the season and into the playoffs, unlike some teams. Luzardo is turning into a Zack Baun-level steal for this Phillies team already. Also, the top end of the lineup has proven to be very solid, too. Schwarber, Turner, Harper, and Castellanos have been productive and have carried the team so far this year. On the negative side, the bullpen continues to leak outside of the top-end talent, and early on, the team is leaning way too heavily on stars like Alvarado, as he has appeared in 50% of the team’s games this year. A formula that could backfire in such a long season if they wear him down as the year goes on. Finding him some rest will be important, but that will also be hard when the pen is 2-3 arms short, as Jordan Romano and José Ruiz have not only not filled roles but have been active liabilities despite Romano’s clean inning in Thursday’s loss. The Phillies tried to build a budget bullpen this year, and it is clearly showing early on. The Phillies’ offense doesn’t help as they tend to keep games close as they struggle to find big hits and add on more runs to create lower-leverage spots. The other mega concern is the lineup outside of the top four guys. It is still super early, but the returns so far this year from Bohm, Marsh, Realmuto, and Kepler have been pretty abysmal. A trend that hopefully can be turned around this weekend versus the St. Louis Cardinals.