Phillies fall short to the Atlanta Braves in back-and-forth series opener

ATLANTA — The Phillies’ 8-5 loss on Thursday wasn’t the cleanest of games.

They dug themselves holes. Brandon Marsh bobbled a ball off of his kneecap in the third inning that gave the Braves’ Ronald Acuña a double. A few batters later, J.T. Realmuto threw a ball to third base to try to catch Acuña stealing. He probably should have thrown to second base to try to catch Matt Olson. Both runners were safe.

Aaron Nola made more than a few pitches that he would like back — specifically, a cutter down the middle to Austin Riley in the first, a sinker down the middle to Marcell Ozuna in the second, and a hanging curveball, again to Riley, in the fifth inning. All three pitches became home runs. When Nola exited after six innings, he’d allowed eight hits, five runs — all earned — and two walks with seven strikeouts. And those three home runs were the most he’s allowed in a game in almost four years.

“I didn’t execute well tonight,” Nola said. “I didn’t miss any balls over the plate. Hit some bad pitches, made a couple of good ones. I mean, they pretty much held me tonight. Riley got me pretty good for three RBIs. Ozuna had a couple. It was just not a great night.”

He’s not wrong. But what was notable about the loss was that the Phillies dug themselves out. They didn’t do it once, or twice. They did it three times. After Riley’s two-run homer in the first inning, Alec Bohm responded in the second with a two-run home run to tie the game, 2-2. Marsh followed with a single, and after Edmundo Sosa flied out, Bryson Stott hit a two-out double to score Marsh.

When the Braves tied it up in the next half inning on Ozuna’s home run, and took a 4-3 lead in the fourth, with Michael Harris’ sacrifice fly, Bryce Harper launched a solo shot to right-center field to tie it once again. After Riley’s second homer of the night in the fifth inning, it was Harper, again, who sparked a rally.

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He stepped to the plate in the seventh inning with only 21 bunt hits to his name. But there is a time and place for everything. And in this time, and in this place, the situation called for a bunt.

So, with two outs and no one on base, Harper stuck out his bat and angled it so A.J. Minter’s four-seam fastball would graze the grass inside the third-base line. He sprinted to first base and clapped enthusiastically when he safely touched the bag. Nick Castellanos was up next. Harper knew when he laid down that bunt instead of swinging for the fences that this was a better matchup for his teammate than it was for him.

Castellanos singled to center to put runners on first and third for Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber took two pitches and launched a cutter to right field for an RBI double. Harper scored easily. Castellanos hustled around second and third as third-base coach Dusty Wathan waved him home.

He slid and, at first, he was called safe. He pumped his fists. Harper, who was waiting for him, signaled to confirm the initial call. Schwarber gave his teammates a thumbs-up from second base. It was a cathartic moment. But after review, the call was overturned. Braves catcher Sean Murphy had just tagged Castellanos’ knee before his lead leg touched the plate. He was out.

So, the Phillies went into the bottom of the seventh tied, 5-5. For a moment, it seemed like they would rally a fourth time after Seranthony Domínguez’s 1-2-3 inning.

But Realmuto, Bohm, and Marsh were retired in order in the top of the eighth, and, in the bottom of the frame, Gregory Soto dug them a hole they couldn’t dig out of. He allowed four hits, three earned runs, and walked one with one strikeout in 2/3 of an inning. Jeff Hoffman induced a groundout for the third out. Soto was charged with the loss.

Kody Clemens struck out, Stott lined out, and like Wednesday, the Phillies’ last opportunity came down to Trea Turner, but he was unable to deliver this time. Turner swung at the first pitch he saw, a fastball in the zone, and popped up to second base to end the game.

A loss is a loss, but that doesn’t make it meaningless. The Phillies didn’t like the outcome, but they did show resiliency.

“I think as a team that was pretty good of us to jump on them early and get it going,” Harper said. “I don’t think coming in here that we’ll never think, as a team, that we can’t beat these guys. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. We’ve got to go out there and play our game and understand that the Braves are a really good team, but also, we’re a really good team as well. We’ve just got to keep playing our game.”