ATLANTA — This Braves lineup is battered and bruised beyond any other club in Major League Baseball this season.
With their ace on the mound, the Phillies had a prime opportunity to hit the ground running on their six-game road trip and put some serious distance between the two clubs in the NL East.
Instead, the Braves found a way to squeak out a series-opening victory over the Phillies, 3-1. Their lead in the NL East has dropped to six games, with the two teams set to face each other six more times in the next 12 days (two in Atlanta, four in Philadelphia).
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Reynaldo Lopez made his return to the mound for the Braves after a three week stint on the injured list for elbow inflammation. His outing was limited against the Phillies (5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 10 K) but the 30-year-old right handed pitcher showcased why he was a first-time All-Star this season.
He retired the top of the order (Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper) three times. Schwarber and Harper struck out in each of their plate appearances against him. The two have only struck out at three times in the same game once this season, June 2 against the Cardinals.
Harper’s third punch out was also Lopez’s 10th of the night. It was the first time he collected double-digit strikeouts since September 5, 2019 when he was with the White Sox.
It's rare for Schwarber, Turner and Harper to be a combined 0-for-12 in a single night. In what was a game of inches, they didn't make things easy on themselves.
Philadelphia Phillies
"It makes it difficult," manager Rob Thomson said. "You know that they're going to hit at some point, it's just one of those nights. We gotta come back here tomorrow and strap it on and get after it."
Whit Merrifield, who has frequented second base in the absence of Ozzie Albies, welcomed his former team to his new territory with a triple in his first plate appearance of the night. Merrifield sent one to the corner in right field — and the combination of his speed and a weird bounce off the wall for Nick Castellanos to track down teed up the first run of the night.
Michael Harris II made contact with the first pitch he saw and singled to put the Braves on the board.
The heart of the Phillies’ order accounted for all five hits tonight. After stranding the bases loaded in the second, Alec Bohm and Castellanos singled back-to-back to lead off the fourth. J.T. Realmuto knocked one to shallow center to send Bohm home.
Bohm on Tuesday extended his on-base streak to 36 games, which is the longest active streak in the majors.
Zack Wheeler made his 10th start as a Phillie at Truist Park — and only allowed one more run on the night — a solo home run from Marcell Ozuna, his 37th of the season. With the struggles the Braves have faced offensively this season, Ozuna has been a lightning rod in a storm of chaos for them.
"I have a lot of respect for (the Braves), I really do," Thomson said on their depleted roster. "They come in and they compete. It doesn't matter who's on the field. It doesn't matter if it's spring training, regular season or a playoff game, they compete. And they do a good job with filling holes, so we gotta get after it."
Wheeler ended his night after six innings, where he allowed six hits, two runs and struck out eight. In all 10 games at this ballpark as a Phillie, Wheeler has allowed three or fewer runs and gone at least 6.0 innings in nine outings.
But when you can’t drive runners in scoring position home … when the offense strikes out 13 times on the night … it doesn’t matter how good your ace is on the mound.
Sometimes it’s just not enough.
On deck: Wednesday's matchup features a rubber match on the mound with Aaron Nola (11-6, 3.45 ERA) and Max Fried (7-7, 3.62 ERA). Nola is coming off his strongest start post All-Star break, keeping the Nationals scoreless for 6.2 innings. What's most encouraging is that was his deepest start since June 29 and it was the first start where he hadn't allowed a run since June 5.
Cristopher Sanchez (9-8, 3.46 ERA) and Spencer Schwellenbach (4-6, 4.04 ERA) will face off in Thursday's 7:08 p.m. series finale. Like Nola, Sanchez is coming off his best start in the second half of the season, allowing one run in a complete game against the Nationals. The Phillies saw Schwellenback in Atlanta early July, where he gave up one run on seven hits while collecting the win.
The club then heads to Kansas City to wrap up the road trip with a weekend series against the Royals. It's the second of four consecutive series for the Phillies against teams currently holding a playoff spot (Braves (3), Royals (3), Astros (3), Braves (4)).
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