Good baseball teams find different ways to win.
One night after exploding for a season-high 19 runs and a franchise-record tying seven home runs, the Phillies scratched out a tightly contested 2-1 victory over the Braves on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.
They improved to 78-57 on the season and 44-22 in their home ballpark.
Alec Bohm’s eighth inning sacrifice fly to the warning track in right field off Braves reliever Pierce Johnson provided the winning run. The Phillies’ rally started with back-to-back singles by Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper against Atlanta lefty reliever Dylan Lee, who exited following Harper’s ground ball up the middle that advanced Schwarber to third base.
Schwarber scored easily on Bohm’s fly ball and the Phillies seized control of a game that hung in the balance for the vast majority of the night.
The Phillies were out-hit 12-6 as the bats cooled off significantly following Thursday’s slugfest. They were unable to solve Braves righthander Bryce Elder, who entered his 23rd start of the season with a 6.12 ERA. Elder hardly looked the part of a struggling starter, allowing just one run on three hits in seven innings.
The Phillies utilized some small-ball tactics to score their first run of the game in the fourth inning. A leadoff walk by Schwarber was followed by a Harper bunt single down the third base line against a shifted Braves infield. After a Bohm flyout, Brandon Marsh delivered a RBI single to score Schwarber and tie the game 1-1.
24 hours removed from his MLB record tying four-home run outburst, Schwarber went 1-for-2 with a walk and scored both of the Phillies runs.
He was greeted with a standing ovation before his first at-bat.
The Braves failed to capitalize on several opportunities to take control of the game early. Atlanta left six men on base in the first four innings against Phillies starter Ranger Suarez. The Braves finished the game 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
Suarez, the reigning NL Player of the Week, wasn’t nearly as sharp as his previous two outings. He scattered 10 hits over five innings with just two strikeouts and one walk.
Suarez escaped trouble throughout the evening. With the game tied in the top of the fifth inning, Suarez’s 92nd and final pitch resulted in a Marcell Ozuna fly ball to right field. Nick Castellanos made the catch then threw out Matt Olson at home plate for an inning-ending double play. Olson, attempting to tag up from third base, was unable to avoid a diving tag by Rafael Marchan.
The Phillies bullpen was flawless. David Robertson, Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering and Jhoan Duran combined for four scoreless innings of relief.
While it wasn’t as emphatic as the previous night’s blowout, Friday’s win was every bit as meaningful as the Phillies continue their quest for a second straight NL East title.