On Tuesday, April 8th, the Atlanta Braves hosted their arch-rival Philadelphia Phillies at Truist
Park in what was seen as a highly-anticipated matchup featuring two of the top starting pitchers
in the National League in Philadelphia’s Zac Wheeler and Atlanta’s Chris Sale, the reigning NL
Cy Young award winner from last season.
The game looked like a pitcher’s duel between Sale and Wheeler, as Sale struck out Trea
Turner and Bryce Harper to start the game. However, the Phillies rallied, and a two-out RBI
single by OF Nick Castellanos put the Phillies up 1-0. In the bottom of the first, DH Marcell
Ozuna was robbed of a game-tying home run thanks to a highlight-worthy catch by utility man
Edmundo Sosa. It was Sosa’s first career start in left field. After Sale retired the Phillies in order
at the top of the second, Austin Riley took advantage of a miscue in left field between Sosa and
CF Johan Rojas. Riley ended up at second with one out on what should have been a routine
fly-out. The miscommunication would loom large, as Braves OF jarred Kelenic drew a walk, and
C Sean Murphy hit a three-run home run in his first at-bat of the season, giving Atlanta a 3-1
lead.
However, a two-run RBI triple by DH Kyle Schwarber, followed up with an RBI double by
Castellanos, put Philadelphia back in front by a score of 4-3. A solo home run by Schwarber in
the top of the fifth extended the lead to 5-3. Braves manager Brian Snitker pulled Sale from the
game after giving up another double to Castellanos. Enyel De Los Santos would finish the
inning and pitch the sixth in relief of Sale.
In the bottom of the sixth, OF Bryan De La Cruz and Jarred Kelenic followed up an Austin Riley
strikeout with back-to-back singles. With runners on first and second with one out, Sean Murphy
drove in his fourth run of the day, scoring De La Cruz with an RBI single. SS Orlando Arcia drew
a walk to load the bases, and after throwing 104 pitches in 5.1 innings, Phillies manager Rob
Thompson pulled Wheeler from the game. A sacrifice fly from Michael Harris II against Matt
Straham tied the game at five.
After Dylan Lee entered the game and retired Harper and Bohm, he was replaced with Daysbel
Hernandez after walking Schwarber. Hernandez was able to retire Castellanos to end the top of
the seventh.
Ozuna led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Riley’s double to right center put the Braves back in front 6-5. In the bottom of the eighth, the
Braves cashed in on a leadoff double by Arcia. Arcia advanced to third thanks to a sacrifice bunt
by Harris and scored on a wild pitch, giving Atlanta an insurance run and a 7-5 lead. Closer
Raisel Iglesias retired pinch hitter Max Kepler, thanks to a diving catch by Kelenic in right field to
lead off the ninth. He retired Turner and walked Harper, but he got Bohm to pop out to third to
end the game, giving Atlanta a much-needed 7-5 win. The Braves will look to win their first
series this season on Wednesday night. Grant Holmes will make his second start of the season.
Taijuan Walker will start for Philadelphia.
Notes
● The entire Braves lineup came away with at least one hit
● Atlanta is now 42-25 against the Phillies all-time at Truist Park (since 2017)
● Kelenic and Arcia drew a combined five walks
● There seems to be little concern about the noticeable dip in Sale’s velocity, which
averaged around 92.7 mph in Tuesday’s game. I’ve just got to find a groove.” Sale
commented after the game. “It’s not clicked yet. It’s not all put together.”
