Atlanta – For the second game in a row, the Phillies played some sloppy defense, and their captain couldn’t hold off the Atlanta Braves’ attack.
“We gave it up,” said coach Joe Girardi after his team’s 8-4 loss on Wednesday night at the Home of the Braves.
The Braves broke open the match 4-4 with two runs at the bottom of the fifth. Loyal Jose Alvarado threw a wild pitch and succumbed to the Homer in the inning, and quarterback Odubel Herrera made a costly foul with a ball that eluded everyone but the peanut seller.
This was the seventh defeat for the Phillies in their last 10 matches, bringing them back to four games under 0.500 at 20-24.
They haven’t played five under .500 games this season and the feeling inside the club is one of depression.
“The mood isn’t good, obviously,” said Musk JT Realmuto. “We feel like we are a much better team than the way we play now and it is up to us at this club to play better.
“We have to do better in all aspects of the game. We’re not playing well enough. We’re not playing well enough. We’re not playing well in defence.
“The situation is very sad now at this club after this loss and that is how it should be. Because we expect to win. We just have to play better if we want to get to where we want.”
The Phillies won the first game of the series on Monday night. Their losing streak coincided with the New York Mets losing first place twice in a row. Phils missed an opportunity to capture ground in the NL East and stay eight games behind the Mets while the Braves fall back.
The Phillies play a three-game series in New York against the Mets starting Friday night.
Things started off just fine for Velez on Wednesday night. They took a 1-0 lead over Homer by Herrera in the second half. The Braves came back fast by four games against Ranger Suarez at the bottom of the second half and never lags behind again.
William Contreras, who was knocked out and winning the match on Tuesday night, started Braves’ second rally with Homer solo on the field 0-2 by Suarez.
Suarez has given up six of his homeowners in 43 2/3 runs this season. Last season, he allowed only four rounds out of every 106.
Herrera took another hit from the RBI in the fourth inning, and Nick Castellanos and Jean Segura led in runs in the fifth to make it 4-4.
And the brave returned at the right-back and dominated the match at the bottom of the fifth half and won.
“This is a huge stop to keep momentum on your side and the fact that we got it back to them was definitely not ideal,” Realmuto said.
The Feliz made their best impression on the Ringling Brothers’ work at the bottom of Part Five. In the 4-4 match, Suarez ceded a single hit to Dansby Swanson and then hit Marcel Ozuna before lifting in 88 fields in favor of left-back Jose Alvarado.
Alvarado’s second court against Austin Riley was a wild stadium. Realmuto reclaimed the unbridled playing field and threw in second place with Swanson ahead. The throw was high and just past the gauntlet of second baseman Jean Segura. She also escaped the grasp of Bryson Stott, who was supporting the play. Finally, the pitch slipped to the center of the field, where a charged Herrera got it. So, in one play, the ball had three Pelés-Segura, Stutt and Herrera – and Swanson was able to score the go-ahead from first base without the hitter putting the ball into play.
Three pitches later, Riley put the ball into play, moving to the left-field bench to give the Braves a 6-4 lead.
Herrera was only accused of a mistake in the play that no one did, but there could have been more.
It was the second night in a row that the Velez midfielder made a foul that led to a sprint. Roman Quinn missed a fly ball in the bottom nine on Tuesday night.
There were other moments of slack for the Phillies in Wednesday night’s game. Overly aggressive Bryce Harper, who had four hits, made a blunder trying to extend one into a double in the first half and Castellanos missed a cut man who helped the Braves score a run in the second.
“The little things accumulate, whether it’s good little things or bad little things,” Girardi said. “Sometimes they go unnoticed. Who knows what happens in the first half, right? You know, there’s no guarantee we’ll score, but first and third by one is better than third with two. Missing the cutting man may have led to an extra run. them. It makes a huge difference.”
Suarez was not sharp in the second match in a row. 10 primary runners were allowed six strokes and four walks on 4 1/3 innings. He was charged with five runs. The epoch of the left handed era is 4.74, not what anyone expected, after nine starts.
“His driving is not what it was last year, and we have to find a way to get him back on the right track,” said Girardi. “Lvd was all in there. He missed his places so badly. He just got out.”
Aaron Nola performs for the Phillies at the end of the series Thursday night. The Phils will need a win to avoid losing their 10th series of the season. They only won four.
Subscribe to the Phillies Talk: Apple Podcast | google apps | spotify | Stitcher | Article 19 | Watch on YouTube
“Typical food guru. Problem solver. Devoted beer practitioner. Professional reader. Baconaholic.”