ATLANTA — Facing the reigning World Series champion Braves in their home ballpark never was going to be an easy task, and for the first seven innings of the game, the Phillies played a pesky brand of baseball, one that seemed to be working against the Braves. Then came the eighth.
Seranthony Domínguez — who has been the Phillies’ most dominant closer all season — entered the game, and promptly gave up five earned runs in two-thirds of an inning, which is a season-high for him. In fact, the first time Domínguez had given up more than two earned runs since April 19 in Colorado.
Unable to finish the inning, Domínguez exited for Nick Nelson, who allowed two hits and another earned run to give the Braves a six-run-eighth inning and a 7-2 lead. To make matters worse, Phillies outfielders botched a routine fly ball from Ozzie Albies that would have ended the inning. Instead, it scored a run. It was an ugly sequence of events.
It was a stark turnaround from what the Phillies had been doing earlier in the game. They worked Braves starter Max Fried to to 110 pitches through six innings. The lefty gave up three walks for the month of August but allowed three walks against the Phillies. In the top of the fourth inning, Kyle Schwarber worked a 10 pitch at-bat, which ended in a line-drive home run, his 39th of the season.
After William Contreras tied it up with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth, Jean Segura responded with another solo home run of his own an inning later.
Yairo Muñoz, who was recalled from Triple-A hours earlier, hit a ground-ball single in the top of the fifth inning and beat out the tag at first base. Dalton Guthrie, who now has five games’ worth of big league experience, ran 124 feet in the bottom of the fifth inning to make a sliding grab in foul territory.
But the most vivid memory for most, will be of Domínguez, a pitcher who has been remarkably reliable up to this point, showing some vulnerability.
Harper fouls a pitch (but stays in game)
Bryce Harper fouled a ball off of his knee in the top of the fourth inning. He remained in the game but was looked at by trainers after he was hit. Harper came off the injured list on Aug. 26.
Suárez’s solid outing
Ranger Suárez went six innings, allowing two hits, one earned run (Contreras’ solo shot), three walks, and four strikeouts. He threw 91 pitches and 55 strikes. It was the first outing in which Suárez allowed one or fewer earned runs since Aug. 17 in Cincinnati. That it came against the Braves, a team that collectively has a .762 OPS — good for second-best in baseball — is even more impressive.
