Braves bounce back by beating up on the Phillies, 9-2

A couple of four-run innings for the Braves buried the Phillies in a hole that they could not crawl out of. Philadelphia’s pitching let them down tonight, as the Braves took advantage of the opportunity and picked up a 9-2 win over their divisional rivals.

We didn’t have to wait long for our first flashpoint of the game to arrive. Ronald Acuña Jr. did what he normally does to start games off, as he reached base and made it look easy. He tried to steal second with one out and Freddie Freeman at the plate, but was called out on the field. Acuña was adamant that he was safe, so the Braves challenged it and the umpires agreed. This ended up being crucial, as Freddie slapped one up the middle to score Acuña and put the Braves out in front.

This ended up setting the tone for the night, since the Braves were in firm control of the game from that point forward. Mike Soroka didn’t go deep into the game, but this wasn’t because he spent most of his stint struggling. In fact, he didn’t really struggle until the bottom of the fifth. That was when he gave up two singles and a walk, with the second single being a Bryce Harper RBI. Sean Newcomb came into the game and after two pitches, retired J.T. Realmuto to end Philadelphia’s scoring threat right there.

That was bitterly disappointing from Philadelphia’s point of view, since that was their chance to get back in the game after the Braves had tagged them for four runs in the top half of the fifth inning. The Braves started off the top of the fifth with seven consecutive at-bats that went their way. Brian McCann started things off with a leadoff home run that was absolutely crushed.

An error, a walk and a sacrifice bunt flipped the batting order and allowed Ronald Acuña to return to the plate with a chance to do some damage. He did just that, as he ripped the first pitch he saw right up the middle to bring home both Johan Camargo and Ender Inciarte to make it 4-0 at that point. Ozzie Albies sent the very next pitch deep into right field and a long way from Bryce Harper in right field. Acuña scored easily, but Ozzie was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple. The scoring ended there, but the Braves weren’t done.

The Phillies brought on a new pitcher for the sixth inning, but the story remained the same for Atlanta as they just kept on punishing Philadelphia. The first at-bat was a costly one, as Nick Markakis would eventually leave the game after getting hit by a pitch to start off the sixth. McCann followed it up with a single and with one out, Ender Inciarte was able to push Markakis past the plate after he ripped one up the middle and rolled the ball up Cesar Hernandez’s glove. It was dubiously ruled an error, but the run counted just the same.

Austin Riley was then tabbed to pinch hit for Sean Newcomb — which was clearly a show of aggression on Brian Snitker’s part since Newcomb had only thrown two pitches. It ended up working out, as Riley coaxed a walk out of Cole Irvin to load the bases. The next nine pitches for Cole Irvin were ones that he’d love to forget, as that’s how many pitches it took for him to walk both Ronald Acuña and Ozzie Albies. Then Freddie Freeman scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 9-1. The Braves offense can explode at any given time, and the Phillies did their best to aid them with six free passes over the span of two innings.

The Phillies clawed one run back after Jean Segura blasted one into the seats in left field, but it was far too little for Philadelphia to do anything with. Though, you could make the argument that the Phillies may have waved the white flag in the sixth inning when they sent out Cole Irvin to hit for himself in the bottom of the sixth after the calamitous outing he had on the mound in the top half of that frame. If you had a few questions for Brian Snitker for taking out Newcomb after two pitches, then Gabe Kapler could probably look forward to an entire exam of questions after that decision.

Anyways, that run was the only one that the Phillies would get back. The Braves ended up cruising to a comfortable 9-2 victory, and it was a win that proved that Atlanta’s struggles in Philadelphia backin March are deep in the rear-view mirror. They’ve still got two games left at Citizens Bank Park, but the Braves have made an emphatic statement after one game.