Phillies’ roller-coaster week ends with 3-1 loss to Braves, but division lead is back to six games
The test gets tougher this week, with a three-game series against the Brewers.
Think back, waaaay back to last Thursday, when the Phillies came home after getting swept by the Mets, their division lead reduced from seven games to only four.
Remember the hysteria?
Well, as you wake up Monday, check the standings. You’re never going to guess whose lead is back up to six games.
OK, so it could’ve been seven. The Phillies’ bats remained quiet and they fumbled a one-run lead Sunday night in a 3-1 loss to the Braves after José Alvarado allowed a two-run homer to Drake Baldwin in the top of the ninth.
» READ MORE: Phillies agree to minor-league deal with pitcher Walker Buehler, who could fit into their postseason plans
But as the Phillies hustled to catch an overnight flight to Milwaukee for a Labor Day matinee (4:10 p.m. Eastern Time) against the National League-leading Brewers, the fact remained that they still recouped most of what they lost earlier in the week in New York.
“That was a big bounce back for us,” said Brandon Marsh, whose fourth-inning solo homer accounted for the offense in the finale against the Braves. “Much needed, for sure.”
Said manager Rob Thomson: “It was huge. They responded really well, and they usually do because it’s an experienced club. They’ve got short memories.”
OK, let’s do the math: The Phillies are 79-58, two games off their pace from last year. If they go even 12-13 in September, the Mets would have to go 18-7 to stop them from winning their second division title in as many years.
Sure, there are troubling signs. Start here: Orion Kerkering, the primary right-handed setup man, has allowed runs in four of his last six appearances.
Kerkering inherited a 1-0 lead in the eighth inning after a brilliant start from Jesús Luzardo and loaded the bases on an infield hit and two walks. The Braves scored the tying run on a groundout.
In his last six outings, Kerkering has given up five runs on six hits and five walks.
“He’s got to trust the stuff, attack the zone, and go after people,” Thomson said. “He just didn’t have it tonight.”
» READ MORE: Phillies calling up catcher Garrett Stubbs from triple A as active roster expands in September
Thomson had neither lefty Matt Strahm nor closer Jhoan Duran, both of whom appeared in the previous two games. Alvarado was the choice, then, in the ninth inning of a 1-1 game.
It might’ve gone differently if Alvarado hadn’t deflected Jake Fraley’s grounder up the middle, which went for a leadoff single. Two batters later, Alvarado’s first-pitch sinker caught too much of the plate, and Baldwin banged it into the left-field seats.
Which leads us to the second concern. After exploding for 19 runs in the series opener against the Braves — known heretofore as the “Kyle Schwarber Four-Homer Game” — the Phillies scored a total of six runs over the next three games.
They almost got away with it. Because the strength of the roster — before losing Zack Wheeler for the season and as far as the Phillies go without him — remains the starting pitching.
After the series opener, the lefty trio of Ranger Suárez, Cristopher Sánchez, and Luzardo held the Braves to two runs in 18⅔ innings. Luzardo dazzled for 6⅔ scoreless innings in the finale, and the Phillies were six outs from their first four-game sweep of the Braves since 2017 despite getting only one hit after the fifth inning.
But that’s a tough way to win. And the Phillies have leaned heavily on their starters. Luzardo has made 28 starts and worked 155⅔ innings after an injury-interrupted 2024 in which he threw only 66⅔ innings over 12 starts for the Marlins.
“I feel great,” Luzardo said. “I would say the last two starts I felt probably the best I’ve felt all year, health-wise. I just want to continue to give us a chance every five days, and whenever they call my name, be ready to go.”
The starters are about to get a slight respite. The Phillies signed veteran righty Walker Buehler to a minor league contract Sunday and expect to use a six-man rotation after calling him up to make a start Sept. 12 against the Royals.
“An extra day is never a bad thing,” Luzardo said.
Meanwhile, scoring more runs would take a burden off the starters.
The Braves didn’t put a runner on base against Luzardo until Michael Harris II singled to right field with one out in the fifth inning. The Phillies botched another rundown between first and second base (that’s twice in six games) and Eli White walked, but Luzardo struck out Nacho Alvarez Jr. and Sean Murphy to get out of the inning.
Luzardo dialed up his fastball to 98.6 mph. He leaned again on his sweeping slider to produce eight of 12 swings and misses. The Braves had two hits and one walk against him in 6⅔ innings.
And yet, when Luzardo walked off the mound to a standing ovation and tipped his cap to the 43,770 paying customers, the Phillies had only the 1-0 lead.
» READ MORE: Nick Castellanos says the Phillies’ outfield rotation is ‘a big adjustment.’ Rob Thomson gets his frustrations.
The test gets tougher this week, with a three-game series against the Brewers, who were 29-28 in late May when they came to Philadelphia and swept three games, the start of a 56-25 stretch that has left them with the best record in baseball.
“You always want to play quote-unquote the best, you know?” Marsh said. “You want to beat the best. They’re having a really, really good year, and we’re just focused on the first game tomorrow.”
It’s easier with a six-game lead back in tow.