Thursday night’s game was a roller coaster ride for the Atlanta Braves, as they looked to
rebound from a tough loss Wednesday night and clinch their first series win of the 2025 season
by beating the Philadelphia Phillies. The Braves took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first
after a walk by 3B Austin Riley and a double by DH Marcell Ozuna set up a sacrifice groundout
by 1B Matt Olson to score Riley from third.
Outside of a game-tying 429-foot solo home run by Phillies DH Kyle Schwarber in the top of the
third inning (his second of the series and sixth of the season), Spencer Schwellenbach had
another fantastic outing on the mound for Atlanta. Schwellenbach notably struck out OF Nick
Castellanos with two outs and the bases loaded, working his way out of a jam. He also started a
double play to end the top of the sixth, his final inning. Shortly after the Braves went down in
order at the bottom of the sixth, a three-hour rain delay ensued, and the game nearly ended
prematurely.
Nonetheless, play resumed at 11:30p.m. ET, with Aaron Bummer retiring the Phillies in order at
the top of the seventh. Neither team broke through after nine innings of play, so the game went
to extra innings, still tied at one.
In the top of the 10th, Rafael Montero, who was acquired by the Braves in a trade with the
Houston Astros just days earlier, made his Braves debut and retired the top of Philadelphia’s
lineup (Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, and Castellanos) in order. Unfortunately, Atlanta couldn’t
capitalize, stranding Jarred Kelenic at third in the bottom half of the inning.
The Phillies took a 2-1 lead in the top of the 11th after Jose Suarez walked Johan Rojas with the
bases loaded. Schwarber nearly hit a grand slam the next at-bat but flew out to end the inning.
After missing several chances to score runs during the game, the Braves offense woke up in the
bottom of the 11th against Joe Ross. Riley tied the game with an RBI double, and Ozuna won it
with a two-run walk-off home run, giving Atlanta a 4-2 victory and a series win over their
arch-rival. The Braves are now 3-9 and will travel to Tampa for a three-game series with the
Rays.
Notes
● The Braves’ struggles at the plate with RISP (runners in scoring position) continued. The
team was 2-11 overall with RISP and 0-9 prior to Riley’s double in the bottom of the 11th.
● The Braves now hold an all-time record of 43-26 against the Phillies at Truist Park (since
2017)
● Kelenic has five walks in his last nine at-bats. He had zero in his first 26 at-bats of the
season, indicating that he has made the proper adjustments to his approach at the plate.
