PHILADELPHIA – Thursday night started the biggest series of the season for both the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves.
With just a 5 game lead in the NL East, the Phillies needed to get back the sizeable gap they once held. For the Braves, a series win could get their club right back in the hunt for the division title.
The Phillies fell behind early and it looked like they were going to roll over in this one. As Rob Thomson likes to say, this is a resilient bunch. They proved their manager right, scoring 5 unanswered runs to steal back victory.
Braves strike off Sanchez
All was quiet through the first inning, and the game entered the second tied at 0.
After back-to-back strikeouts, Cristopher Sanchez appeared to be cruising past the Braves’ order. Then, a broken bat single by Michael Harris II just snuck through the third base bag. This brought Orlando Arcia to the plate, who crushed a ball to deep center field. A ball that might have been caught by Johan Rojas got past Brandon Marsh, allowing Harris II to score from first. This gave Atlanta a 1-0 lead.
Then in the third inning, the Braves added on. Whit Merrifield would lead off the inning by reaching on a Trea Turner error. A few batters later, Matt Olson would put a ball deep into the stands of Citizens Bank Park. This made it an early 3-0 lead for the Braves.
In the fifth, Matt Olson would strike again. Taking Sanchez deep to extend the Atlanta lead to 4-0.
Cristopher Sanchez’s final line for the evening was 5.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, and 2 HR. He threw 105 pitches and 72 were thrown for strikes.
Missing: Phillies Offense
After going 7 innings without a hit on Wednesday, the Phillies opted to continue the trend. Mixing in a few walks, it took the 12th batter of the game, Bryce Harper, to get an infield single.
Charlie Morton could not find the strike zone in the first few innings of the game. But luckily for Morton, the Phillies were matching him with their inability to generate hard contact. Charlie walked 5 hitters in the first four innings, but the Phillies could not bring anyone home to score.
Bryson Stott had two of those walks, making them count by swiping second base twice. His efforts were not rewarded as the Phillies left him out to dry. Both times JT Realmuto and Brandon Marsh would go down on strikes.
Through five innings, the team had just two hits.
Brandon Marsh breaks the silence
Things were looking bleak for the Phillies as the game deepened. Their offense was unable to create any motion on the bases and it felt like the game was slipping.
In the bottom of the sixth, Brandon Marsh woke everyone up. A few batters prior, Nick Castellanos singled to start the frame. Bryson Stott’s strikeout quieted the crowd again as the fans felt another letdown was upon them. A JT Realmuto single kept it going, while also running up Charlie Morton’s pitch count. As Morton flirted with the 100-pitch mark, he would face Brandon Marsh.
Marsh would connect with a 3-run, opposite-field home run. Citizens Bank Park got loud and the Phillies were right back in the ballgame.
7th Inning Stretch
It was stretch time in South Philly and anticipation was brewing around the stadium. Fans were reenergized and were doing whatever they could to get their team back on top.
In the bottom of the 7th, Trea Turner would earn a walk to start. Bryce Harper would sacrifice bunt Trea over to second base, in a questionable move. Normally small ball is rewarded in Philadelphia but when it’s one of the best hitters on the planet, fans might scratch their heads.
The next batter was Edmundo Sosa, who entered for Alec Bohm in the third inning. Bohm left with left-hand discomfort. His X-rays came back negative, which is a good sign for the third baseman. Sosa would ground out to third, but he moved Trea Turner over in the process.
With two outs and a chance to drive home a run, Nick Castellanos stepped to the plate. Nick took a deep swing into centerfield, making it a 5-4 Phillies lead. Citizens Bank Park became unglued, and momentum was back in favor of the home team.
Bullpen Shuts the Door
With a 5-4 lead in hand, the Phillies turned the ball over to their best relievers to finish the job.
Matt Strahm would enter the game in the 8th. He first would face Matt Olson and in a battle of lefties, Strahm would punch out Olson. An inside pitch ran a little too close to Travis d’Arnaud and the former Phillies prospect would take a trip to first base. With one out, Strahm would fool Ramon Laureano for his second strikeout of the frame.
With two outs and a runner at first base, Matt Strahm would face Michael Harris II. Harris would drive a ball to the deepest part of centerfield, but it stayed in the park. Brandon Marsh reached back to make the grab and the top of the 8th came to a close.
Jeff Hoffman would then enter the 9th with that same one-run lead.
Facing Orlando Arcia, Hoffman would get the Braves shortstop to ground out to Sosa at third. He then got former Phillie Luke Williams to strike out swinging. With two outs in the 9th, up upstepped Whit Merrifield. With a chance to play hero, Whit fell behind 0-2.
The former Phillie battled to a full count but it was not enough. A weak ground ball to Edmundo Sosa wrapped the game up. A come-from-behind victory for the Phillies was well-earned on Thursday night.
Photo Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
