PHILADELPHIA (Interstat) — In a taut pitchers’ duel that hinged on one defensive miscue, Chris Sale delivered seven dominant innings to outlast Cristopher Sánchez and lead the Atlanta Braves to a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park.

A crowd of 43,423 watched as Sale, the veteran left-hander, struck out seven and scattered five hits over his outing, allowing only a solo home run to Phillies debutant Felix Reyes. His performance outshone that of Sánchez, who was sharper but less fortunate, yielding three unearned runs over six frames in a hard-luck loss.

The game’s decisive sequence unfolded in the top of the third inning, transforming what had been a pristine pitchers’ battle. With two outs and the score tied 1-1, Atlanta’s Drake Baldwin singled. Ozzie Albies then hit a potential inning-ending grounder to second baseman Edmundo Sosa, but Sosa’s error allowed Baldwin to reach second safely and kept the inning alive.

Sánchez, who had struck out Ronald Acuña Jr. and Baldwin earlier in the inning, could not escape the mistake. He walked Matt Olson to load the bases. Austin Riley then hit a soft chopper back to the mound that Sánchez could not field cleanly, scoring Baldwin for a 2-1 Braves lead. Mauricio Dubón followed by slicing a two-run single into center field, plating Albies and Olson to extend the advantage to 3-1.

Those two unearned runs proved the difference, as Sánchez’s final line—six innings, eight hits, three runs (zero earned), one walk and eight strikeouts—belied his effectiveness.

Philadelphia’s lone bright spot came in the second inning from the 24-year-old Reyes. In his first major league at-bat, the left fielder connected on a 94 mph Sale fastball, driving it into the right-field seats. He became the sixth player in Phillies history to homer in his first career plate appearance.

From there, Sale locked in. He worked around a single and a walk in the first, and after the Reyes homer, he permitted just three more baserunners. Sale induced an inning-ending double play from Brandon Marsh in the fifth and retired the final seven batters he faced, finishing his night by striking out Reyes looking to end the seventh.

The Braves bullpen preserved the lead with two perfect innings. Dylan Lee worked a 1-2-3 eighth, and Robert Suarez earned his first save of the season by striking out Bryce Harper and Adolis García before getting Rafael Marchán to fly out to end the game.

Atlanta’s offense managed 10 hits, with Albies going 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. Dubón’s two-run single accounted for the game’s only RBIs not provided by Reyes’ historic blast. The Braves, however, stranded nine runners and went 2-for-10 with men in scoring position, relying on the third-inning error to generate their scoring.

The loss extended a difficult stretch for the Phillies, who have dropped nine of their last 12 games and fell to 8-12 on the season. The Braves, winners of four straight and eight of 10, improved to 14-7 and secured their second consecutive victory in this four-game series.

Sale earned his fourth win against one loss, continuing a strong rebound after a rough outing against the Los Angeles Angels on April 6. His performance Saturday lowered his ERA to 3.00. Sánchez fell to 2-2 despite lowering his ERA to 2.01.

The game, played in a crisp 2 hours, 43 minutes, defied pregame expectations. The Phillies had been installed as a 1.5-run favorite by oddsmakers, and statistical models gave them a 54.4% probability to win, with a projected total of eight runs. The final combined score of four runs fell well under the over/under line of 7.

The teams conclude their series Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park before meeting again for a three-game set in Atlanta next weekend. The Braves will travel to Washington for a four-game series beginning Monday, while the Phillies head to Chicago for a four-game set against the Cubs.