The Phillies finished their first road series against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park this season with a 4-2 loss in 11 innings. Both squads struggled to put the bat on the baseball to generate runs in a waterlogged contest that included a nearly three-hour rain delay and some early-morning walk-off fireworks for the home squad courtesy of DH Marcel Ozuna. “You sit around for almost three hours of a rain delay,” analyst Ricky Bottalico started during NBCSN’s Phillies postgame show. “Neither team was really thrilled to come back (out) and play this game. Everything counts in the standings, and the Phillies take a one-run lead (in the top of the 11th), and kaput, it’s gone.”
Braves Strike Early Against Luzardo
Atlanta’s Spencer Schwellenbach started the game at 7:15 PM EST against Phillies leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber. The 24-year-old righty sat down Schwarber, Trea Turner, and Bryce Harper to retire the side in order.
Jesus Luzuardo took the ball for Philadelphia for the second time in his career. After a one-out walk to Austin Riley, Ozuna smacked a hard ground ball to left field toward Max Kepler to advance Riley into scoring position at third base. Matt Olsen’s ground ball to Harper allowed Riley to score the first run of the ballgame, 1-0.
Schwarber’s Solo Shot Ties Game in Third
Philly responded in the third inning on Schwarber’s sixth home run trot of the season. Bryson Stott led off the inning with a single before Brandon Marsh ground into a double play to bring Schwarber to the play with the bases empty. The Phillies’ 32-year-old slugger powered a ball to deep right-centerfield for his NL-leading 6th homerun of the season. Schwarber’s six homers are tied with New York Yankees power hitter Aaron Judge and Oakland Athletics slugger Tyler Soderstrom for the MLB league lead.
FORE! pic.twitter.com/ftFlDZvyHI
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 10, 2025
The game was delayed before the top of the 7th inning due to substantial weather rolling through the Georgia area near Truist Park. Patient Phillies fans (and journalists) sat through a 2-hour and 45-minute delay before the action returned to the field in Atlanta at 11:30 PM EST. Both starting pitchers exited the game, which turned the tied contest into a late-inning bullpen game.
Friday Morning Baseball
No more scoring occurred over the remaining regulation innings, sending the game deeper into Friday morning. Braves reliever Rafael Montero, acquired from the Houston Astros earlier this week, threw the first pitch of the 10th inning at 12:22 AM EST. Schwarber sacrificed Johan Rojas to third base on an infield grounder in the top of the 10th inning. Montero sat down Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos on strikes to leave Rojas stranded at third base.
Tanner Banks entered the game at the bottom of the 10th inning and faced a challenging task in getting the game into the 11th inning against the Braves. After a successful sacrifice on the opening pitch of the inning by Michael Harris II, Nick Allen hit a hard ground ball right at Alec Bohm, who picked the hop off the dirt before and fired across the diamond to Harper at first base. Riley’s ground ball up the middle could not score the runner from third, and the game continued even later into the night.
Ozuna’s Walk-Off Homerun Earns Series Win for Atlanta
The eleventh inning kicked off at a bleary-eyed 12:35 AM EST, with Kepler at the plate, who advanced Castellanos to third on a ground ball. A pop fly to centerfield from Bohm could not score the run from third on the inning’s second out. J.T. Realmuto advanced to second on a catcher’s indifference play before Stott earned a walk to load the bases for Rojas. The Phillies outfielder battled for a walk to drive in a run for a 2-1 Philly lead. Schwarber sent a fly ball deep to the right field, which was caught on the warning track by Jarred Kelenic.
With Jose Alvardo unavailable due to a 30-pitch workload last night, Joe Ross entered the game to lock things down for the Phillies. Riley’s double to center field tied the game at two before Ozuna promptly untied the game by crushing a hanging slider into the left-centerfield seats for a 4-2 home win for Atlanta at approximately 12:54 AM EST, or nearly six hours after first pitch.
MARCELL WITH A TWO-RUN HOMER TO WALK IT OFF!#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/6fBYcZuZTK
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 11, 2025
“It is tough,” former ballplayer turned broadcaster Ruben Amaro said on NBC Sports Philadelphia’s postgame show. “You still have to play the game, and you still have to concentrate. They literally didn’t get a hit after the sixth inning. Zero hits in five innings. 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Pretty futile effort from everybody across the board.”
Phillies Red-Eye Flight To St. Louis
The Phillies (8-4) travel to Missouri for a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals (5-7) beginning tomorrow at 8:15 PM EST before a pair of afternoon ballgames at Busch Stadium this weekend. The Cardinals enter the series 3-7 over their last 10 games and have lost four out of their previous five contests. St. Louis enjoyed a leisurely day off on Thursday while the Phillies played in early Friday morning with a 4-2 loss to the Braves.
*All quotes from Phillies Post Game Live via NBC Sports Philadelphia
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
