Close Call In Atlanta

On Sunday August 23, Baseball fans were left with an exciting game that ended on the side of the Philadelphia Phillies, while also leaving a bad taste in the mouths of the Atlanta Braves. Winning this game would have meant that the Atlanta braves swept Philadelphia over the weekend, and a controversial play at the end of the game would have meant another walk off win in a row. But, the Phillies fought hard and didn’t go out, allowing their fifth loss in a row. 

The first inning started with a good defense by the each team. Zach Eflin, a shaky pitcher for Philadelphia hung in there for the first inning, pitching well enough to keep Atlanta off of the score board. On a play where the Braves had a batter on first and second base, a hit to second base rewarded the Phillies with a nice looking double play. Phillies carried that good play on defense to the offensive side in the top of the second inning when rookie, Alec Bohm, hit his first home run down center field making the score 1-0 for Phillies. Bohm’s home run was imitated twice in the top of the third inning by Rhys Hoskins’s hit to left field, and Didi Gregorious’s hit to right field, making the score 4-0 for Phillies.

It was the bottom of the third when Atlanta finally struck back. Freddie Freeman doubled, putting two runners home. Marcell Ozuna sends Freeman home a few plays later with single to left field. As the Braves inched closer to tying the score, the Phillies had one more score in them. Bohm ran home off of a left field single by Andrew McCutchen in the top of the fourth inning, making the score 5-3 Phillies. Philadelphia probably didn’t know at the time how useful the score would be down the stretch, but it was pivotal in a low scoring contest like this.

In the fifth through eighth innings, there was a scoring drought caused by good defense. In the top of the sixth, three Philly batters, Hoskins, Bryce Harper, and J.T. Realmuto were all struck out. While Atlanta didn’t make it that easy for the Phillies’ defense, a series of groundouts, strikeouts kept them away from any runs home. Fast forward to the ninth inning, Freddie Freeman doubles to centerfield causing Adeiny Hechavarria to score (now 5-4 Phillies). Dansby Swanson another player with potential to score on the hit was forced out at home by Phillies’ catcher Andrew Knapp. Knapp blocking the base prior to forcing Swanson out is what the Braves challenged, but unfortunately for them the ruling was that the ball carried Knapp into the position he was in. Was Knapp Blocking the base? Or did the throw by Gregorious cause Knapp’s position in front of home base? That is for fans to decide.

Philadelphia moved on with a record of 10-14, while Atlanta still sat higher in the NL east with a record of 16-12.