It was a beautiful night in South Philly as the Braves and Phillies were starting Game 3 of their series. Zack Wheeler was opposed by Max Fried, and they did not disappoint. Both men brought their A-game and it was a pitches duel throughout. There were home runs that were and home runs that weren’t. Let’s break it down.
Phillies vs Braves recap
Pitchers duel
When they are right, Wheeler and Fried are two of the best pitchers in the National League. They both finished runner-up for the Cy Young Award in back-to-back seasons (Wheeler 2021, Fried 2022). Each man stepped on the mound with the gravity and intensity that division rivals duke-ing it out late in the season for playoff positioning on the national stage deserved. The lights were plenty bright, but Wheeler just did a little more to block it out.
Here are their lines from Saturday:
- Wheeler: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K, 96 pitches (65 strikes)
- Fried: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 4 K, 103 pitches (63 strikes)
Fried gave up two solo home runs, and Weston Wilson’s hustle allowed a third run to score. Philadelphia would threaten with lead-off walks in the fourth and fifth innings, but Fried induced ground balls, forcing double plays in each frame.
I asked Phillies manager Rob Thomson about the significance of Trea Turner churning out a nine-pitch at-bat and a home run to lead off the sixth after Fried needed just nine pitches the entirety of the fifth:
“Yeah, it’s big... it was good to see him hit the bball out of the ballpark too and hopefully that gets him going a little bit. But yeah, Fried was really good tonight… it was a great game, great pitching match up.
Wheeler was moving at a blistering pace, regularly leaving a lot of time on the pitch clock. A Cliff Lee-esque pace to him, if you will. He left several Atlanta hitters off balance with how quickly he was getting ready. Thomson spoke about what he saw from his ace:
“You can tell when he’s locked in, and he was locked in tonight. He’s a big game pitcher. You know, these types of games, you feel like you’re gonna get 6-7-8 innings of him because he just gets locked in and pounds the zone like he did tonight – maintains his velocity throughout his outing. All the secondary pitches were good.”
When asked what he means by ‘locked in’, Thomson expanded: “I think that the brighter the lights, the better the command gets, the better stuff gets, the better the execution gets. It’s just – he gets locked in.“
Wheeler came into the game with the second-best odds to win the Cy Young Award, and he definitely improved those odds last night.
The Edmundo Sosa Show
With Alec Bohm still nursing a hand injury, Edmundo Sosa was in the starting lineup again. He delivered against the Braves tough lefty in a big way.
In the third, he led off and absolutely uncorked on a pitch. He drove it deep to left, giving his squad the 1-0 lead. He would walk in the fifth before stepping up again in the seventh. His team already up 2-0, Sosa added some additional security with an opposite-field double that one-hopped the fence. Weston Wilson was the runner on first, and he motored all the way from first – scoring on a beautiful slide that was needed to tally the run.
Sosa also showed his versatility, playing second base today after playing third base yesterday. He has been an important cog in the Phillies machine all season.
Center Field robberies
Johan Rojas and Michael Harris II couldn’t help but flash their leather for the national crowd watching on Fox. After an impressive diving catch on a liner from Matt Olson on Friday, Rojas continued to haunt the Braves first baseman. In the sixth inning, Olson was up and drilled one to dead center. Rojas backed up slowly, seeming to have a read but maybe not enough room. With his back up against the wall, he stole a run from Atlanta without leaving his feet.
Harris II wouldn’t let that slide – he one-upped Rojas with one of the best catches I have ever seen – definitely the best I ever witnessed live – to rob Austin Hays of a homer.
Thomson was asked about his thoughts on the two impressive defensive plays after the game:
“The Harris catch is one of the best catches you will ever see in this game. And it was just…” Thomson paused to laugh. “I couldn’t believe he came up with it. But yeah, Rojas made a nice catch“
The Phillies have the lead in the series 2-1 with the finale coming later tonight on another national broadcast. Aaron Nola (12-6, 3.30 ERA) will take the mound for the Phillies. He will be opposed by Braves starter Spencer Schwellenbach (5-6, 3.72 ERA).
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
