And for Wheeler too, unfortunately
Admittedly, this recap title would’ve worked better if the Phillies had actually won the game. But things don’t always go quite how you’d like them to, even if the early signs and portents look good. Just ask the Phillies.
Chris Sale struck out Trea Turner and Bryce Harper to start off the game, but Alec Bohm— freshly returned from a day off, and looking to make up for a recent rough patch at the plate— blooped a single to right. Kyle Schwarber apparently liked the look of that hit, because his looked just about identical. Nick Castellanos made relatively gentle contact with the ball, but got just enough to send it up the middle for a run-scoring single. These soft hits, especially when surrendered early, are the sort that inspire great dread in a hurler and his fans. Sale, not yet ready to surrender to the fates, recovered by sending J.T. Realmuto down on a called third strike.
The Braves’ half of the inning went relatively quietly, until Marcell Ozuna smacked a Zack Wheeler sweeper over the fence. Unfortunately for him, though, Edmundo Sosa’s glove also went over the fence. And when it came back, the ball was securely nestled within it. It was the capper of his first-ever inning as a starter in the outfield. At this point, we must conclude that Edmundo Sosa, like Jason or Perseus of mythology, is beloved by the gods.
But as in many great myths, there is a moment where the favor of the gods is revoked: for Sosa this came with one out in the second, when he and Johan Rojas had a miscommunication (more Rojas’ mistake than Sosa’s) over who would take an easy fly ball from the bat of Austin Riley. The ball instead landed in front of them as Riley made his way to second. And so the tragedy unfolded: Jarred Kelenic worked a free pass, and Sean Murphy smacked a Zack Wheeler sweeper over the fence. Unfortunately for the Fightin Faithful, though, there was no hope of a robbery this time. The Braves led 3-1.
The Phillies did not hang their heads. The top of the lineup came to the plate to start the 3rd, and both Turner and Harper singled, then advanced on a double steal. Schwarber knocked a pitch to deepest center; Michael Harris II leapt for it, missed, and saw the ball carom off the wall as Schwarber ended up on third and his teammates crossed home plate to tie the game. Castellanos, not content to let his pals have all the fun, lined sharply to left to score Schwarber and take the lead.
Two innings later, Schwarber, apparently deciding that an almost-homer wasn’t good enough, slammed a no doubter to left to extend the lead to 5-3. Once more, Castellanos provided a double as a response. That was the denouement to Sale’s shaky night, and he finished with a line of 9 hits, 5 earned runs, and 5 strikeouts.
Wheeler outlasted Sale, though it was hardly a vintage start for him. He allowed the Braves to put runners on the corners in the 5th before stranding them both. But he was not able to pull off the same escape trick in the 6th, allowing a trio of consecutive singles to Bryan De La Cruz, Jarred Kelenic, and Sean Murphy to narrow the score to 5-4. He then surrendered a free pass to load the bases, and his night was done as well. Matt Strahm came in to relieve; the Atlantas tied it up with a sacrifice fly.
The game began to tilt the home squad’s way in the 7th, as the Braves got the better of Orion Kerkering to the tune of 2 walks, 1 hit, and 1 lead-taking run. The Phillies could neither match that nor stop the bleeding: they went down quietly in the top of the 8th, then allowed a leadoff double to Orlando Arcia. Arcia advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from Harris II, then scored on a wild pitch that Realmuto couldn’t quite grab.
Kepler (pinch-hitting for Rojas), Turner, and Harper were the first men up as the Phillies made their last stand against Raisel Iglesias. Kepler made an out by hitting a liner to right that bore an awfully strong resemblance to a hit off the bat, Turner made a fly out, Harper walked. Bohm popped out. That’s all she wrote.
The Phillies are 7-3. They’ll look to even up the series tomorrow at 7:15.