Phillies hurt by home runs, shut down by Sale in series loss to Braves

The Phillies were unable to build on the momentum of Saturday’s win against the Braves, as they dropped Sunday’s series finale in Atlanta by a score of 6-2. Aaron Nola again struggled with the long ball in his start, allowing two home runs across 4 ⅔ innings.   

The Braves had scored three runs before recording their first out of the game. Ronald Acuña Jr. scorched a leadoff infield single to Trea Turner at shortstop, and Drake Baldwin hit a single of his own, before Matt Olson cleared the bases with a three-run home run.

In the second, the Braves added to their lead. Mauricio Dubón tripled to open the inning, and Eli White followed with a two-run home run. Acuña later walked and stole second base, before being singled home by Baldwin to make it 6-0.

Nola limited the damage after that point, but was unable to complete five innings. Throwing 101 pitches across 4 2/3 innings, he allowed six runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out six. This marks the second consecutive start in which Nola failed to get through the fifth. He has allowed 11 runs across his last nine innings pitched, and his season ERA now sits at 6.03 through six starts.

Chris Sale, on the other hand, shut down the Philadelphia lineup. The 2024 NL Cy Young Award winner limited Phillies hitters to just one hit and two walks over six shutout innings, striking out nine.   

The Phillies avoided the shutout, scoring two runs in the eighth. Rafael Marchán reached on a fielding error by Austin Riley at third base, and Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer, his ninth of the year, to narrow the deficit to 6-2. 

But any hopes for an improbable comeback ended there. Robert Suárez pitched a 1-2-3 top of the ninth for the Braves, handing the Phillies another series loss. The Phillies have not won a series since April 3-5 in Colorado, when they took two games out of three from the Rockies.   

The Phillies (9-19) have an off-day Monday before returning home for three games against the San Francisco Giants (12-15). Jesús Luzardo will get the ball in the series opener on Tuesday, while Tyler Mahle starts for San Francisco. First pitch Tuesday is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET.