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A narrow win but a big one for Philadelphia, who evened the series against the Braves. Originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
ATLANTA – It wasn't pretty… but my god, it was necessary.
Philadelphia pulled off a hard-fought 3-2 win Wednesday night at Truist Park to even the series against the Braves.
More importantly, Philadelphia has given itself a little breathing room in the National League East, where the gap between the two teams has returned to seven games. The two teams face each other four more times in 11 days, and marginal wins like this could end up deciding the division.
So, it may not have been their flashiest win of the season… but it was a big win for a team that held out for nine innings against a good – albeit badly drained – Braves team.
A win that left manager Rob Thompson with this important statement in his office moments later: “This is how you win a playoff game.”
There's always a lot of talk about Aaron Nola – but one thing is for sure – he's a workhorse. Win or lose, he's underrated.
Even on a night when he wasn't at his best (still at least a B+), Nola pitched 5.1 innings, allowing two hits on eight hits. Both of those hits were scored on a home run from Orlando Arcia — Nola's 23rd home run of the season.
Most surprising was the strikeouts-to-walks ratio. In his last two starts at this stadium, Nola had 16 strikeouts and zero walks. Tonight, he struck out five and walked two. Still, he did what was needed to keep Philadelphia in contention. As a result, they now trail the Braves in the season series by just one game (4-3).
“I think every win matters right now,” Nola said. “I feel like every step up isn't enough right now, especially against the Braves. They're always good, they always play well against us, and it's always a challenge when we play the Braves.”
“We have to take care of our business tomorrow and try to win the series.”
Nola has only once pitched a run in regulation, by striking out a team in the fifth inning. Nola has pitched 159.1 innings this season, putting him ahead of teammate Zack Wheeler for second in the National League, trailing only San Francisco's Logan Webb (172.2).
It took until the sixth inning for the Phillies to break through the opposing defense and reach lefty Max Fried.
Edmundo Sosa hit a single, Johan Rojas hit a double, and suddenly Philadelphia had runners in scoring position for the first time. Kyle Schwarber popped out to put Sosa in, and Rojas scored on a Trea Turner groundout.
Brandon Marsh, who replaced Rojas in the eighth inning, sent left fielder Jarred Kelenic to the warning track. That was more than enough to knock Weston Wilson off the field to give Philadelphia the lead.
Wilson, who has only appeared in a handful of games, seems to find a way to make an impact every time he starts. In the eighth inning, with right-handed pitcher Joe Jimenez coming in for Fred, Thompson could have made the decision to bring one of his lefties off the bench — but Wilson’s hitting has earned some confidence from Topher.
“His strokes are so good that it's hard to deny it,” Thompson said. “I've been impressed with his strokes. He looks balanced, he looks comfortable, he looks calm, he uses the court.”
Austin Hayes is currently with Division III Lehigh Valley rehabbing a strained hamstring, though he could return to Philadelphia as early as this weekend’s series at Kansas City. If that’s the case, and if Wilson continues to perform as he has, it will be interesting to see how Thompson will deal with linebackers going forward.
After Tuesday’s game, Bryce Harper joked that Whit Merrifield might end up hitting nine in the series. So far, he’s reached base safely five times (three hits, two runs) in his first two games against his former team. But that’s how it usually is in baseball.
The game ended with Merrifield being knocked out by Harper – but it was anything but ordinary. Harper had to hold on tight to secure victory with a dramatic little touch.
And it was certainly more dramatic than just imitating a playoff game in a random game in August, that's for sure.
(If you know, you know… and if you don't…) here.)
on deckChristopher Sanchez (9-8, 3.46 ERA) and the Phillies look to even the season series against the Braves on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. They'll face Spencer Schwellenbach (4-6, 4.04 ERA) for the second time this season.
The club then heads to Kansas City, where they will rely on Taejuan Walker, Ranger Suarez and Zack Wheeler. Suarez is expected to return from the injured list after suffering back spasms. He has been out for a little over four weeks, having last played on July 22. The hope is that the offseason will serve as a reset for Suarez ahead of the final stretch of the season. Thompson noted that Suarez will have a maximum pitching capacity when he returns. For the record, he threw a combined 77 pitches in a simulated game last Saturday, upping his velocity to 91.
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