Some Braves fans at Turner Field Thursday offered sarcastic cheers when Matt Wisler finally recorded his first out, nearly 15 minutes after the first pitch. They showed real enthusiasm when the Braves tried to rally from a seven-run hole created by Wisler but the comeback came up short.
The Phillies hammered Wisler early on the way to a 7-5 victory. The Braves (35-67) are 4-9 since the All-Star break after they were 13-12 in the 25 games before it.
The Braves were down 5-0 after one inning and 7-0 after five. They cut the deficit to two runs on Gordon Beckham’s two-out RBI single in the ninth before Jeanmar Gonzalez closed out the victory.
The Phillies (47-57) got Wisler for seven runs (six earned) over five innings with three home runs. That made four consecutive rough outings for Wisler and the Braves sent him down to Triple-A Gwinnett following the game.
Wisler’s poor start continued a trend that began when the White Sox got to him for six earned runs over five innings in Chicago on July 8. he followed that with a six-run, five-inning start at the Reds and then allowed six runs over 5 1/3 innings at the Rockies. Those three starts came in hitter-friendly parks but a return to a better venue for pitchers didn’t help Wisler.
He walked Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez to begin the game. Odubel Herrera singled and then Maikel Franco smashed Wisler’s second pitch several rows into the seats in left field for a 3-0 lead.
Wisler started off 1-0 to Tommy Joseph, the next batter. Joseph sent his second pitch out of the park on a line drive to center field. Aaron Altherr followed with a single, prompting pitching coach Roger McDowell to trot out for a chat with Wisler.
Wisler had Carlos Ruiz down 1-2 before walking him. The next batter, Freddy Galvis, popped out on a fly ball to third baseman Adonis Garcia to prompt those cynical cheers. Cody Asche followed with a sharp grounder that second baseman Jace Peterson couldn’t handle, and the error scored Altherr for a 5-0 deficit.
Wisler got out of that inning when Aaron Nola bunted into a double play. He made it through the next three innings without allowing a run but Altheer smacked a two-run homer with two outs in the fifth for a 7-0 lead.
Braves third baseman Adonis Garcia hit a two-out, RBI double against Phillies reliever David Hernandez in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to 7-4. Right-hander Edubray Ramos replaced Hernandez and retired Ender Inciarte with one pitch to strand two base runners.
Inciarte led off the bottom of the ninth with a single against Gonzalez and Anthony Recker walked. The next batter, Erick Aybar, grounded into a double play before Beckham’s RBI single and Gonzalez struck out Jace Peterson looking to end the game.
The Braves couldn’t do much against right-hander Aaron Nola (6-9). He struck out Ender Inciarte to leave the bases loaded in the first inning and stymied Braves hitters until they broke through with three runs in the fifth.
Chase d’Arnaud led off and made it all the way to third when center fielded Herrera lost his pop up in the lights. The next three batters got hits: Freddie Freeman rapped an RBI double, Nick Markakis singled and Garcia extended his career-high hitting streak to 10 games with an RBI single.
Anthony Recker’s sacrifice fly scored another run and Erick Aybar walked with two outs. Pinch hitter Brandon Snyder struck out to strand two base runners.
