Phillies manage only four hits as Braves complete sweep, 5-2

ATLANTA — Bailey Falter put the Phillies in position to win on Sunday. Facing one of the best offenses in baseball, an offense he had never faced, he allowed only four hits, one earned run, and two walks over 4⅔ innings. But unfortunately for Falter, even that wasn’t enough in the Phillies’ 5-2 loss to the Braves, who completed a three-game sweep at Truist Park.

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The Phillies didn’t record a hit off Braves starter Spencer Strider until the sixth inning — a solo home run from Alec Bohm to tie the score at 1-1. Strider is having a phenomenal year, and has been even better against the Phillies, allowing just three earned runs over 21⅓ innings. But he looked vulnerable on Sunday, and the Phillies’ lineup failed to capitalize on it. The Phillies managed only four hits.

“He’s got good stuff,” Kyle Schwarber said of Strider. “He’s going to be a guy we see for quite a long time. He’s one of those guys where if he’s in the zone, he has the stuff that you foul it off. It’s a plus for him. Those are the kind of guys you really have to bear down and try to get him in the zone and don’t miss it. Another good day for him. You have to tip your cap.”

The Phillies worked Strider to 106 pitches through six innings — an uncharacteristically high number for him — but also struck out 10 times against the 23-year-old rookie. The offense’s performance against Strider gave Falter no room for error. So, when the southpaw found himself in a jam in the bottom of the fifth, allowing two singles to put runners on first and third with two outs, interim manager Rob Thomson did not allow Falter to work through it. Instead, he called on reliever Andrew Bellatti, who struck out Austin Riley to end the threat.

Falter was visibly frustrated as he walked off the mound. He classified his outing as an “OK job.”

“No starting pitcher wants to go four and two-thirds,” he said after the game. “You want to go deeper into the game. That’s your job. If you’re throwing every five days, you’ve got to be better, especially for the team. But I mean, yeah, I was a little bit frustrated with that. It’s a good team. They battled, I battled, it just didn’t go our way.”

Calling on Bellatti early was a smart move in that moment, especially given the matchup and Monday’s off day, but from there, the rest of the bullpen was unable to shut down the Braves’ lineup in the way that Falter had. Connor Brogdon allowed a solo home run to William Contreras in the sixth. Sam Coonrod allowed another solo shot to Robbie Grossman in the seventh, and an RBI single by Riley three at-bats later to give the Braves a 4-1 lead.

In eighth inning, Marcell Ozuna hit a line-drive double off David Robertson that landed in the left-field corner. Schwarber bobbled the ball in his glove, and Braves center fielder Michael Harris scored all the way from first base.

The Phillies’ first two games against the Braves in this three-game set resulted in losses, but they were at least competitive. With Falter on the mound, Sunday’s game felt competitive at first but demoralizing by the end (despite a two-out, ninth-inning solo home run from J.T. Realmuto). The Phillies are now 80-66. They are a half-game behind the Padres for the second wild-card spot.

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The Phillies had their chances to score. In the fourth inning, Bohm reached second base on a fielding error by Riley at third. But Brandon Marsh, Jean Segura, and Bryson Stott struck out to end the inning.

In the seventh inning, Segura hit a leadoff single off Braves reliever Tyler Matzek. Stott struck out again, and Realmuto walked to put runners on first and second with one out. But pinch-hitter Matt Vierling struck out and Schwarber flied out to squander yet another opportunity. The Phillies went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

“We didn’t come up with the big hit today,” Schwarber said. “It’s frustrating for myself that I came up there with runners in scoring position. I had a good pitch to hit and popped it up. Those are the little things that are going to win or lose ballgames. Trust me, it’s not going to happen all the time. You’re not always going to get the big hit.

“When you’re in these situations, those are the situations we look for. We want to be in those situations. No one is shying away from when we have guys on base. Everyone has a good approach and a good plan. Sometimes it’s just round ball, round bat. We can’t worry about, ‘Man it would have been a big hit.’ Right? Because, if we do, it just creates things in the back of the head, versus when you’re up there the next time we see success.”