It’s been a tough season for the Phillies. After their miraculous run to the World Series last year, they’ve struggled out of the gate this year while the Braves have built a healthy lead in the division. Thursday afternoon’s game against Atlanta, therefore, was an important one, representing a golden opportunity for Philadelphia to make up ground in the division race.
Through the first nine innings, things were going fine for the Phillies. They hadn’t scored a run but their pitchers hadn’t allowed one, either. So the game went to extra innings.
That’s when things went off the rails. The Braves scored one run thanks to the automatic runner rule and then tacked on two more when Kyle Schwarber dropped a routine line drive.
