Braves Complete Road Sweep of Phillies With Comeback Victory
PHILADELPHIA (Interstat) — The Atlanta Braves weathered an early two-run blast from Kyle Schwarber and methodically rallied behind a resilient bullpen to secure a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, completing a three-game series sweep at Citizens Bank Park.
A crowd of 36,806 watched as the Braves, overcoming a projected underdog status by Interstat’s ELO system which gave the Phillies a 54.4% win probability, improved their National League-best record to 15-7. The Phillies fell to 8-13, having lost five of their last six.
The most critical juncture of the contest came in the bottom of the fifth inning, with Atlanta clinging to a 4-2 lead. After Schwarber’s RBI double put runners on second and third with one out, Braves manager summoned right-hander Tyler Kinley from the bullpen. Kinley, inheriting a high-leverage situation from starter Grant Holmes, induced a groundout from Bryce Harper to strand both runners and extinguish Philadelphia’s last, best threat. Kinley (3-0) was credited with the win for his clutch escape.
The game began in stark contrast to the Braves’ shutouts in the series’ first two games. Phillies leadoff hitter Trea Turner singled in the first, and Schwarber followed by launching a Holmes offering to right-center field. The play was reviewed for a potential fan interference but was upheld as a two-run homer, Schwarber’s seventh of the year, staking Philadelphia to a 2-0 lead.
Atlanta chipped away in the third when center fielder Michael Harris II led off with a solo home run, his fourth, to right field off Phillies starter Andrew Painter.
The Braves then seized control with a three-run fifth, capitalizing on Painter’s diminishing command. Harris II sparked the rally again with a single, followed by a Ronald Acuña Jr. single and a walk to Drake Baldwin that loaded the bases with no outs. Matt Olson grounded into a forceout at second, but it plated Harris II to tie the game. Austin Riley then delivered a go-ahead single to third, scoring Acuña Jr. Ozzie Albies followed with a line-drive double to left, bringing home Olson to cap the rally and chase Painter (1-1). The three runs on four hits in the inning gave Atlanta a 4-2 lead it would not relinquish.
From there, Atlanta’s bullpen authored a masterpiece of containment. After Kinley’s pivotal fifth-inning hold, Dylan Lee worked a perfect sixth. Robert Suarez added a scoreless seventh, and Raisel Iglesias closed the door for his fifth save, despite allowing a one-out double to Bryson Stott and a walk in the ninth. Iglesias struck out Trea Turner and got Schwarber, representing the tying run, to line out sharply to right field to end the game.
The Braves’ relief corps of Kinley, Lee, Suarez and Iglesias combined for 4 1/3 innings of shutout, one-hit baseball, striking out four.
Holmes, named Atlanta’s top star, provided a steadying hand after the rocky first. He settled in to log 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits with four strikeouts. His effort continued a solid start to his season following a rough outing against Miami on April 13.
Harris II was the offensive catalyst for Atlanta, finishing a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk, a home run, two runs scored and an RBI. Schwarber was the lone bright spot for Philadelphia, going 2-for-4 with the first-inning homer, a double, and both Phillies RBIs.
Philadelphia’s bullpen, notably Kyle Backhus, Orion Kerkering and Seth Johnson, kept the game within reach by tossing five scoreless innings of relief, but the Phillies’ offense mustered just two hits after the fifth inning and went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
The victory extended Atlanta’s winning streak to three games and marked their sixth win in their last seven. They have outscored the Phillies 16-3 in the series. Philadelphia has now been swept at home for the first time this season and will look to regroup on the road.
The Braves travel to Washington to open a four-game set with the Nationals on Monday. The Phillies head to Chicago for a four-game series against the Cubs, also beginning Monday. The two division rivals are scheduled to meet again next weekend in Atlanta for a three-game series starting Friday.