Phillies follow up offensive outburst with gritty win over Braves

PHILADELPHIA — A night after scoring 19 runs, the Phillies bats were quieted by Atlanta Braves starter Bryce Elder. Luckily, they woke up in time to squeeze out a 2-1 victory over Atlanta in a game that probably should have been a blowout Braves win.

Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper both had impressive at-bats against tough left-handed reliever Dylan Lee, with Schwarber working out a walk and Harper driving a slider on the outside part of the zone up the middle to set up first and third with one out.

Braves manager Brian Snitker, with Alec Bohm due up, fetched the righty Pierce Johnson to face the Phillies third baseman. Bohm drove a pitch to the right field warning track, enough for a go-ahead sacrifice fly to give Philadelphia a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth. The Phillies had a chance to add on to the lead, but with the bases loaded and two out, Max Kepler popped out to third base for the final out of the eighth.

The Phillies bullpen was strong in relief of starter Ranger Suárez. David Robertson, Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering and Jhoan Duran combined for four shutout innings and three baserunners allowed.

Elder, who allowed nine earned runs against the Phillies in late June, completed seven innings. His only run allowed came on a Brandon Marsh RBI single in the bottom of the fourth.

“He’s a pitcher, man,” Bohm said. “He’s a good pitcher. He knows how to move the ball around, change speeds, locate and do some things that aren’t as common nowadays. Everyone is just trying to rip it and throw hard.”

Suárez walked a tightrope, but gave his team five innings. He allowed ten hits, but only one earned run. It’s the second time in his career, and first time since Aug. 1, 2023, that Suárez has allowed at least 10 hits and one earned run or fewer. It’s only the fifth time this season that Suárez, who received a no-decision, has failed to complete six innings.

“Ranger is as good as it gets at being able to navigate through situations and get a big double play ball when he needs it,” Bohm said.

“Just battling and fighting,” Suárez said through a team interpreter. “We had to battle and fight every single inning with runners in scoring position.”

Suárez stranded the bases loaded in the first and induced a pair of double play balls in the second and fourth. Nick Castellanos made an impressive throw from right field to gun down Matt Olson at the plate for the final out of the fifth.

“Just get a good jump and catch it and just get set to make the best throw that I can,” Castellanos said.

Castellanos was subbed out for defense in the ninth inning. Kepler moved from left to right, Marsh shifted from center to left and Harrison Bader came in to play center. It’s the first time the Phillies have replaced Castellanos on defense since June 16. He was benched a day later for making “an inappropriate comment” related to his manager’s decision to replace him on defense. Friday’s game marked the first time Rob Thomson has pulled Castellanos late in the game from the outfield since that night.

The Phillies (78-57) currently have a 5.5-game lead over the New York Mets in the National League East.