Murphy’s Grand Slam Lifts Braves Over Phillies
Tonight at Truist Park, the Atlanta Braves defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 6-1 thanks to solid pitching and a late scoring push. With a strong performance, Braves starter Spencer Schwellenbach set the tone early on by limiting the Phillies' offensive output. The Braves led 2-1 going into the final innings after Atlanta took the lead with an RBI single from Austin Riley and another run from Nick Allen. Catcher Sean Murphy opened the scoring in the bottom of the tenth inning with a spectacular grand shot off Phillies reliever Jordan Romano, securing the victory. Another important player was the Braves’ bullpen, which shut down Philadelphia's lineup to win the game and even the series.
Both sides got out to a cautious start in the first three innings, and good pitching kept the score low in the early going. Key Phillies hitters Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber were easily retired by Braves starter Schwellenbach, who appeared to be in good form. Riley singled home a run to give the Braves a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, giving Atlanta the first run. Allen drove in a run with a base single in the third, giving them another run. While the Braves defense and pitching kept the Phillies scoreless through three innings, Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez battled with command during this stretch, enabling early traffic on the bases that Atlanta took advantage of.
Both teams failed to score in the fourth inning as Braves starter Schwellenbach maintained his superiority. Every Phillies hitter was kept off the board by his orderly retirement from the side, and the Braves’ offense lacked flair during their half at-bat. All things considered, it was a calm frame with good defensive plays and pitching on both sides, but Atlanta still led 2-1. Schwellenbach pitched a clean frame in the fifth inning, staying tuned in. He got Bryson Stott to fly out to deep left field after striking out Max Kepler and J.T. Realmuto consecutively to start the inning. When Matt Olson hit a double to left field, Ronald Acuña Jr. drew a walk and advanced to third, giving Atlanta a threat on the offensive end of the inning. However, Marcell Ozuna added no runs by grounding out to the pitcher. The Braves were still holding onto a slim 2–1 lead going into the sixth inning after the scoreless inning.
The Phillies made a minor rally in the sixth inning, cutting Atlanta's lead to 2-1 as Alec Bohm started with an RBI single off Schwellenbach. In response, Schwellenbach retired the next two batters, including Castellanos' crucial fly out, putting an end to the threat and maintaining the Braves' one-run lead. Atlanta blew things open in the sixth inning. Murphy turned a close game between 2-1 into a decisive 6-1 lead by hitting a massive grand slam deep to left field, the first pitch he saw from Romano. With an exit velocity of 114 mph and a distance of around 455 feet, the bomb was the Braves' first grand slam of the season and essentially sealed the win.
Atlanta's bullpen maintained its dominance in the last two innings to seal the victory. Raisel Iglesias, a reliever, took over in the eighth and pitched a clean inning, keeping the Braves ahead 6-1 and retiring the Phillies in order. Romano held the Braves offense off the board during their quiet half of the eighth. Rafael Montero entered the game to pitch for Atlanta in the ninth and effectively ended any last-ditch effort by the Phillies to rally, securing the win. The Braves played effectively on both sides of the ball, and their outstanding bullpen effort capped it off.
