PHILADELPHIA – Nick Castellanos lined a single into center field, the winning run scored from third base and the Phillies ran toward Castellanos to mob him as the celebration began in front of their raucous crowd – which roared when the ball went into the outfield grass. The Phillies took three of four from the Braves.
In doing so, they might have unofficially knocked Atlanta out of the National League East race. Time will tell for the Braves, now seven games behind Philadelphia with 25 to play.
The final from Citizens Bank Park: 3-2, Phillies, in 11 innings.
The Braves’ road trip began with a three-game sweep in Minnesota. It ended with a disappointing weekend in Philadelphia.
Five observations:
1. The situation was clear when the Braves arrived in Philadelphia: If they split, they would remain five games behind the Phillies. If they took three of four, they’d be three games back. But if they lost three of four, they’d fall to seven games back.
They are seven back.
Never say never, but it’ll be a steep climb for the Braves to win a seventh consecutive NL East title.
“Honestly, I felt like we could’ve walked out of here with three of four,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We didn’t execute enough.”
“There’s no good way to sugarcoat it right now,” Matt Olson said. “It sucks losing the series. We had a chance to come in today and even it up.”
The Braves on Sunday took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. They didn’t score again. The Phillies tied the game with one swing – from Castellanos – in the sixth.
The Braves could’ve left with a split. What probably hurt most: They didn’t score in the 10th or 11th innings, with the runner starting at second base. It put their bullpen in an impossible spot. They went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
“We didn’t do the little things, and you have to against a good team,” Snitker said. “You can’t not take advantage of opportunities that are afforded to you in a game like that. We could’ve walked out of here with three out of four and been in good shape. You’re gonna play close games with this team, just like we did at our place. …You gotta execute. You can’t make mistakes, you gotta execute. We did a lot of really good things, we made some really nice plays.”
The Braves did win the season series against the Phillies, 7-6. If they can make up seven games by the end of the month and end in a tie, they’ll win the division.
Olson said the loss doesn’t change the Braves’ mindset going forward. They’ll try to make the most of the next month.
“Same boring answer: Show up (Tuesday) expecting to win and do that every day for the rest of the season,” he said.
2. In the top of the ninth inning, the Braves loaded the bases with one out against Matt Strahm. Orlando Arcia walked up to the plate. Boos rained down.
Despite Strahm walking the previous two batters, Arcia swung at the first pitch – a 95-mph sinker up. Then he took hacks on the next two, which were 93-mph four-seamers up and away. They were out of the strike zone.
He foul-tipped one of them, then popped out to first base. It was a poor at-bat for this spot.
Would Snitker have liked to see Arcia show a bit more patience in this spot?
“You know, I’d like him to hit a sac fly or get a base hit,” Snitker said. “It’s hard. Hitting’s hard. Again, yeah, you want a better result, but he’s up there trying. He wants to get a hit, and he wants to drive the run in more than any of us do, so I’m not gonna fault him for anything.”
The Braves had a real chance there. But they went to extra innings, with the runner starting at second.
Facing Phillies closer Carlos Estévez, Philadelphia’s big trade deadline acquisition, the Braves went down in order in the 10th inning, then again in the 11th. They missed a prime opportunity to score given that their own closer, Raisel Iglesias, threw two scoreless innings to give them a chance to take a lead.
“A couple chances,” Olson said. “Not being able to push one across in the 10th and 11th puts you in a bad spot. Estévez threw well those innings.
“It’s as simple as that: You start with a guy on second and got two cracks at it, hopefully you’re pushing at least one across and we weren’t able to do it.”
In the 10th inning, Adam Duvall hit with one out. He struck out. He was in the game because Snitker subbed in Eli White for Jorge Soler before the bottom of the ninth to get better defense out there. He knew he’d pinch-hit for White.
Hindsight is clear as day, but it would’ve been nice to have Soler’s bat in there. Then again, Soler was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and is 2-for-31 since returning from the hamstring strain.
Duvall hadn’t gotten an at-bat the entire road trip. He’s batting .185 this season and only started five times in August.
“Going with the more experienced guy, honestly,” Snitker said. “He’d been struggling, hadn’t had a lot of at-bats, I see he’s working his tail off. But I don’t want that game to get over with him sitting there in that situation. That wasn’t the cause of the (loss), there was other things that kind of kept us from pulling that one out.”
That last part is true. The Braves couldn’t convert on key chances.
3. On Thursday, Holmes gave up a go-ahead homer to Castellanos.
In the 11th inning on Sunday, Snitker pulled Aaron Bummer and went to Holmes for Castellanos. The winning run stood at third. There were two outs.
Holmes had a chance for redemption.
Holmes got ahead, 1-2, then threw a 95-mph fastball right down the middle. Game over.
“Unfortunately, it was just right where he likes it instead of a different location,” Travis d’Arnaud said. “It was a missed spot. But what can you do? It happens over 162, it just didn’t go our way.”
Snitker was confident in Holmes.
“He’s got weapons to get him out, that’s the thing,” the manager said. “He’s a good match for him. But it didn’t work. That was one of the things – we didn’t execute well. I feel good about him every time in that situation.”
Spencer Schwellenbach gave the Braves a chance to win. He was a strike away from completing six scoreless innings. He got ahead of Castellanos, 0-2, then missed his spot with a slider. It stayed inside instead of going outside.
Castellanos lined it into the left-center gap for a two-run double that tied the game. It ended Schwellenbach’s night.
“He’s a great hitter and he didn’t miss it, and was able to put good wood on it and give them two runs,” d’Arnaud said. “So kudos to him, he didn’t miss his pitch. Just one of those things where (Schwellenbach) had one mistake today and it was the pitch that they capitalized on.”
“One pitch. It was the right pitch, he just didn’t execute it,” Snitker said. “And that’s gonna happen. Other than that, his outing should result in a win, quite honestly, because he was really good.”
4. The pressing question: Will the Braves and Phillies meet in the postseason?
Snitker would welcome it.
“Oh, absolutely,” he said. “God, I hope we can. I’d love nothing else than to see them again, because that means we’re in. Yeah, absolutely. I hope we do.”
The Braves are only a game ahead of the Mets for the third wild card spot. They must first get into the postseason.
But Braves-Phillies, part III, would be a lot of fun.
“I mean, we’re obviously real familiar with them,” Olson said. “We always play some great games with them. It’s a talented team for sure and you gotta enjoy playing the better teams in the game, and they’re one of them.”
5. After Monday’s off day, the Braves welcome Colorado – one of the worst teams in baseball – to Truist Park. The Braves will start Chris Sale on Tuesday, Charlie Morton on Wednesday and Reynaldo López on Thursday.
Despite the result of the Phillies series, the Braves have played much better over the last two weeks. They’re showing encouraging signs. They’ll get a crack at the lowly Rockies as they look to keep it up.
But this weekend felt like a missed opportunity.
The Braves battled, but fell short.
“We fight until the last out,” d’Arnaud said. “I wish we would’ve split it or won the series, but it wasn’t the way the cookie crumbled, and we just gotta keep going.”
Stat to know
104 - Schwellenbach’s 104 strikeouts are the most for a Braves pitcher through his first 16 career games in franchise history.
Quotable
“You enjoy playing the good teams. That happens to be a really good one over there, in our division. You look forward to (those games). That’s why you play.”-Olson on playing the Phillies
Up next
Tuesday’s series opener against Colorado starts at 7:20 p.m.
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