ATLANTA -- On a night when the Braves tallied 15 baserunners and 10 hits against Taijuan Walker and the Phillies¡¯ pitching staff, Atlanta scored just three runs.
The Braves left 12 runners on base and loaded the bases twice without scoring in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Phillies at Truist Park as Philadelphia evened the series and handed Atlanta its ninth loss in 11 games. Atlanta was 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
¡°We had the deck stacked in our favor a couple of times and just couldn¡¯t piece a gap [or] get a big hit,¡± Braves manager Brian Snitker said. ¡°[Those are] things that have been haunting us for the beginning of this year. It¡¯s going to happen. We¡¯re going to hit with guys on and win games we should. The guys were fighting their tails off and we gave ourselves a chance.¡±
First baseman Austin Riley went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and a single, but he flew out with the bases loaded to end the scoring threat twice in three innings. Riley popped out in foul territory with the bases loaded to end the third inning and softly flied out to shallow right field with the bases loaded to end the fifth. The game was scoreless both times.
Riley said he would have traded the home run for a single with the bases loaded.
¡°Who wouldn¡¯t?¡± Riley said. ¡°You had two opportunities right there and didn¡¯t get it done. I've got to at least get something across the board in one of the two [at-bats].¡±
Riley is 3-for-12 (.250) with three RBIs with runners in scoring position this season.
¡°It¡¯s baseball,¡± Snitker said. ¡°I¡¯m sure nobody feels worse about it than he does, that¡¯s for sure. He showed some signs of life tonight with the homer and the sharp single. We just got to keep wanting to be there in that moment. You want to be up there with the bases loaded. It¡¯s not going to work out all the time, but you want to put yourself in that position.¡±
Walker went 4 2/3 innings without allowing a run despite giving up five hits, three walks and hitting a batter. The Braves tallied nine baserunners against Walker, but didn¡¯t drive one in.
After Philadelphia took a 1-0 lead with a Bryson Stott RBI single, Atlanta responded with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Orlando Arcia drove in Sean Murphy with an RBI single and Michael Harris II¡¯s sacrifice fly brought Jarred Kelenic to the plate to give Atlanta a 2-1 lead.
Bryce Harper gave the Phillies the lead right back with a two-run home run off reliever Dylan Lee in the top of the seventh.
¡°He¡¯s a big-time player,¡± Snitker said. ¡°That¡¯s what guys like him do. They step up in big situations. That¡¯s why he is who he is.¡±
Riley tied the game with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh, but Trea Turner hit the game-winning solo homer off a hanging first-pitch slider from Braves closer Raisel Iglesias in the top of the ninth. Iglesias gave up just four home runs last season and has already surrendered two in 11 games this season.
¡°He hasn¡¯t pitched a lot,¡± Snitker said. ¡°I hate it for him. I¡¯m glad we got to [use him in] back-to-back [games]. He¡¯s pitched twice in 10 days is all. I don¡¯t know. He went up there and caught too much of the plate. [He¡¯ll] be fine. In his role, you¡¯re not allowed to give up anything.¡±
On the other hand, Philadelphia reliever Jos¨¦ Alvarado pitched the final 1 1/3 innings to earn his second win of the season. The left-hander, whose sinker reached 101 mph, allowed singles to Marcell Ozuna and Riley in the ninth inning to put the potential tying run at third and winning run at first. But Alvarado struck out Sean Murphy to end the game.
¡°The guy is throwing 101 with an unbelievable cutter,¡± Riley said. ¡°He¡¯s added a curveball. He¡¯s a really tough pitcher. He¡¯s closing, coming into the ninth for a reason.¡±
Alvarado has a 1.42 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings pitched this season.
¡°It¡¯s a tough at-bat against that guy,¡± Snitker said.
The Braves provided no run support for starting pitcher Grant Holmes, who threw 104 pitches over four-plus scoreless innings while allowing three hits, issuing four walks and striking out six.