The Atlanta Braves picked up an 8-7 win in 11 innings over the Philadelphia Phillies in a marathon outing on Sunday afternoon (and into the evening) to conclude a four-game National League East set at Citizens Bank Park up in Philadelphia, PA, which resulted in a 2-2 split in the series. Atlanta remains a game and a half back from the division-leading New York Mets, who beat the Oakland Athletics on Sunday.
The Braves jumped on the board first with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning on RBI doubles by Travis d’Arnaud and Matt Olson. But the Phillies struck back in the bottom of that inning with a lead off home run from Kyle Schwarber, an RBI single from Alec Bohm, and a groundout by Jean Segura. An RBI single by Dansby Swanson tied the game at 3-3 during the top of the second. Schwarber had another home run to give the Phillies 4-3 lead during the bottom of the third. Swanson put the Braves back in front with a two-run homer in the fourth. Philadelphia scored two more runs on sac flys by Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm in the fifth to take a 6-5 lead. And then the game was interrupted by a rain delay. The Braves tied it up at 6-6 on a wild pitch in the eighth and surged ahead with RBI singles from Ronald Acuna Jr and Michael Harris II in the top of the 11th inning. The Phillies scored an unearned run in the bottom of that inning. But the Braves held on for the victory, again, by a final score of 8-7.
Jackson Stephens was credited as the winning pitcher for Atlanta. Andrew Bellati took the loss for Philadelphia.
The Braves improved to 95-58 with nine games remaining in the ’22 regular season. They will open a three-game NL East set in Washington DC against the Nationals tonight. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm. Listen on WLAQ 1410 AM or 96.9 FM; airtime is 5:50 pm.