By: Matthew Mack
The Philadelphia Phillies headed to Atlanta for a three-game series against the Braves at Truist Park. The Braves have had a slow start with a 1-8 record, while the Phils lead the National League East at 7-2.
In the opening game, Nick Castellanos started the scoring festivities with an RBI single to center on a line drive, scoring Alec Bohm. In the bottom of the 2nd, Sean Murphy slammed home three runs as the ball cleared the left field fence to take the lead, 3-1. Kyle Schwarber, in the top 3rd, tripled home two runners to tie the game. The very next batter, Castellanos strikes again in the RBI category as he brings home Schwarber from 3rd. More Kyle in his next at bat as he slams a bomb over the right center field fence to extend the lead at 5-3 in the 5th. Atlanta in the bottom of the 6th answered back with Murphy an RBI single and a Michael Harris, II sacrifice fly RBI to tie the game. Austin Riley, in the 8th inning, doubled a sharp liner to center to score Marcell Ozuna to take the lead. Atlanta did not look back as the Braves beat the Phillies for their second win of the season. Zack Wheeler gave up five runs in 5 ⅓ innings with seven strikeouts. Orion Kerkering gets the loss.
In the second game, the first five innings were a scoreless affair. In the 6th, With runners on 1st and 2nd, Bryson Stott singled in a run to take the lead. Later in the bottom half of the inning, with runners on second and third, Orlando Arcia singles in a run to tie the game at one with one out in the inning. In the next at bat, Harris brings in a run to take the lead with a sacrifice fly. In the very next inning, Bryce Harper takes the lead with his second home run of the season with a two run shot. Austin Riley in the bottom half, took Phillies reliever Joe Ross deep to tie the game at three. In the 9th, Trea Turner avoids extra innings as he took Braves reliever Rasiel Iglesias deep to take the lead and get the win for the Phillies, 4-3.
In the third game and definitive game in this series, The Braves struck first by Matt Olson who grounded out to first to score Ozuna in the first inning In the 3rd, Schwarber tied the game with a solo home run, his 6th of the season. In the 7th inning, the rains came in and a 3-hour rain delay ensued with the game tied at one. When the game resumed, no team scored in regulation, sending the game into Friday morning and extra innings. In the 11th inning, with the bases loaded, Miguel Rojas walked in with bases loaded on a full count, forcing in a run to take the lead. In the bottom half, Riley gets Phils reliever Ross again to tie the game. In the next at bat, Ozuna wasted no time as he crushed a home run leaving no doubt the win for the Braves 4-2 in 11 innings. The Phillies were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, leaving 13 on base.
The road trip continues as they leave Atlanta to go to St. Louis to see the Cardinals for the weekend. Losing this series, the Phillies tied the New York Mets in the division. When a team that started the season 1-8, good teams will find ways to shake out of their slumber and get the job done. Already, we see that teams in the division are going to be dogfights. The Phillies have to rise to the challenge each time. Having 33 strikeouts in one series at the plate is a bit concerning to me and needs to be rectified. As they go to St. Louis, I expect the Phillies to take care of business and not play down to their competition. The Cardinals are second to last in the National League in ERA as a pitching staff (5.24). Only the Milwaukee Brewers are worse. However, they can hit as well. 3rd in slugging percentage, 2nd in OPS and batting average. The Phils are in the same ballpark as the Cards offensively. Their pitching will have to carry them through the series. Aaron Nola starts the series off on Friday and needs a bounce back start after the last couple of starts were uneventful. They have to continue this month of April on a strong note.
