Kyle Schwarber homers again, but the bullpen deflates the Phillies in 5-3 loss to the Braves

It stands to reason, with Bryce Harper scheduled for thumb surgery Wednesday, that a popular talking point is whether the Phillies will be able to make a trade to boost the offense in the MVP’s absence.

But let’s not forget the Phillies’ biggest need: the bullpen.

Now and always, it seems, the Phillies are a few relievers short of a reliable late-inning crew. The reminders are frequent. Whether it’s deposed closer Corey Knebel getting the seventh inning instead of the ninth, or well-traveled Andrew Bellatti coming into the eighth inning of a tie game, the bullpen is a perpetual problem.

Bellatti took a turn on the firing line Tuesday night. Two days after picking up his first career save — in his hometown of San Diego, no less — he gave up Matt Olson’s line-drive solo homer in the eighth inning to break a tie in a 5-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves in the opener of a pivotal three-game series.

» READ MORE: It's almost time for the Phillies to focus on 2023 and beyond. Almost.

“That happens,” said Kyle Schwarber, who tied the game one inning earlier with a long home run into the shrubbery in center field. “Our guys have been pretty locked down here these last couple weeks. That’s a good team over there. They’ve got good hitters, and they took some good swings and things happened.”

OK, in fairness, the Phillies’ bullpen was coming off a superb weekend in San Diego, allowing a total of one hit in 13 scoreless innings over four games. Sunday, in particular, was a bright spot, with four relievers passing the baton in a come-from-behind, 8-5 victory.

And it’s not like the Harper-less Phillies didn’t have other issues against the Braves. They had starter Charlie Morton on the ropes with two on and nobody out in the first and third innings but scored just one run. Rookie infielder Bryson Stott got picked off first base in the second inning.

Then, with the tying run on third in the sixth inning, interim manager Rob Thomson stuck with Mickey Moniak instead of using a pinch-hitter (more on that in a bit). Moniak popped out.

It’s an important week for the Phillies. They are chasing Atlanta in the division and the wild card races. And when the Braves leave town, the St. Louis Cardinals — also in the wild-card mix — will pay a visit.

There isn’t room for mistakes. And late-inning leads must be protected in a way that they haven’t been around here since 2020.

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper set to undergo thumb surgery Wednesday; ‘no timeline’ for his return, Phillies say

Schwarber is trying his darndest to carry the offense, a la Harper, in the waning days of another torrid June. He extended his on-base streak to 31 games, the longest by a Phillies hitter since Chase Utley’s 35-gamer in 2006, by working an eight-pitch leadoff walk in the first inning and followed with a five-pitch walk in the second.

The Braves had the matchup they wanted against Schwarber in the seventh inning. Lefty reliever Dylan Lee hadn’t allowed an extra-base hit to a left-handed hitter all season. But Schwarber took him deep for his team-leading 21st homer to forge a 3-3 tie and bring the announced crowd of 27,725 to life.

But Olson took Bellatti deep, the Braves added a run against Brad Hand in the ninth inning, and the momentum was gone.

In Harper’s absence, with Nick Castellanos moving back to the DH role, Thomson said he’s committed to giving Moniak more at-bats.

But not pinch-hitting for Moniak in the sixth inning was puzzling.

Moniak is 0-for-15 with nine strikeouts against lefties as a major leaguer, while Lee is deadly against left-handed hitters. The Phillies also had righty-hitting Matt Vierling on the bench.

Thomson explained that Moniak went 4-for-8 against Lee in the minor leagues. He also said he wanted to save Vierling for later in the game against late-inning Braves lefties A.J. Minter or Will Smith. Thomson took a similar approach three weeks ago in Milwaukee, holding back Vierling for an eventual game-winning homer against Brewers closer Josh Hader.

» READ MORE: Phillies' pitching depth will be tested after Zach Eflin hits the 15-day injured list

“I don’t remember what year, but I do remember facing [Lee],” Moniak said. “Don’t know exactly what kind of hits they were, but I definitely felt comfortable against him. Unfortunately, just missed a fastball that I probably should’ve hit.”

A replay review spared the Phillies the ignominy of running into a triple play in the third inning.

Braves right fielder Adam Duvall made a dazzling diving catch on Castellanos’ sinking line drive. Rhys Hoskins got doubled up between first and second base. The Braves thought they may also have nabbed Schwarber, who was called out by the umpires.

But Schwarber clearly tagged from second base and advanced to third. Thomson challenged the call and got it overturned before the Phillies eventually stranded Schwarber at third base.

“I was a little confused. I was like, ‘What’s going on here? Why are they calling it a triple play?’” Schwarber said. “It was like, ‘Whoa! Easy.’ [The Braves] were saying it’s still a triple play. I’m like, ‘No, it’s not.’”

Thomson said the umpires didn’t make a call on the catch until after Hoskins started back to first base because Schwarber went to tag from second.

It would have been the first triple play turned against the Phillies since the Houston Astros did it in 2004.

» READ MORE: The Braves won it all without Ronald Acuña Jr. Can the Phillies even make the playoffs after losing Bryce Harper?

Before Travis d’Arnaud and Olson took him deep in the first inning, Zack Wheeler had given up a total of three homers in 74⅔ innings. Wheeler hadn’t allowed two homers in one inning since April 20, 2021, against the Giants (Buster Posey and Tommy La Stella), or back-to-back dingers since Sept. 26, 2019, against the Marlins (Tyler Heineman and Curtis Granderson).

But Wheeler pulled it together. He gave up only three more hits, piled up 19 swings-and-misses, pitched into the seventh inning, and kept the Phillies in the game.