Phillies lose battle of the bullpens to Braves
It was an anticipated pitcher’s duel, with Zack Wheeler toeing the rubber for the Phillies and Chris Sale on the bump for the Braves. But that’s not what it was on Tuesday night in Atlanta, a Phillies 7-5 loss to the Braves.
Neither starter had his best stuff. The game would turn into a battle of the bullpens.
The Phillies chased Sale after 4 2/3 innings; they tallied five runs on nine hits against him. Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos combined to go 6-for-6 against Sale, driving in all five runs surrendered by the left-hander. Schwarber had a two-run triple and a home run; Castellanos had an RBI single, RBI double and another double.
The bottom of the Braves’ order got to Wheeler, who was charged with five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings, ending a 13-start streak in which he pitched at least six innings and allowed two or fewer runs.
Seven-hole hitter Jared Kelenic walked twice and singled against Wheeler. Eight-hole hitter Sean Murphy, playing in his first game of the season, drove in four runs off the Phillies’ ace. Three came on a home run — an event that could’ve been avoided had Edmundo Sosa and Johan Rojas not allowed a routine fly ball to land on the outfield grass three batters earlier. Murphy’s other RBI came on a sixth-inning single.
The final batter Wheeler faced was nine-hole hitter Orlando Arcia, who walked. Arcia’s free pass made way for Michael Harris II to tie the game, 5-5, with a sac fly against Matt Strahm.
The Braves’ bullpen was more effective than the Phillies’. Enyel De Los Santos, Dylan Lee, Daysbel Hernández and Raisel Iglesias finished the game for Atlanta, not allowing a single hit to the Phillies’ lineup.
Orion Kerkering had the seventh for Rob Thomson’s club. His command was shaky. Kerkering walked Marcell Ozuna to start the inning. Ozuna reached second base a few pitches later on a wild pitch. He scored one batter later on an Austin Riley double, giving the Braves a 6-5 lead. The Braves scored their seventh and final run in the eighth on a wild pitch by lefty Tanner Banks.