The Braves got to Zack Wheeler and the Phillies' bullpen in Game 1, Bryce Harper and Trea Turner answered back in Game 2, and then the rain rolled in and put a pause on the series finale Thursday night – along with another stellar start from Jesús Luzardo.
It took until 11:30 for play to resume, which bled into extra innings, early Friday morning, and one more exchange of leads, but the Braves left Truist Park on top.
Joe Ross was called in to close the game out for the Phillies in the 11th after they took the lead on a bases-loaded walk of Johan Rojas, but Austin Riley immediately doubled off of him to score the ghost runner and tie it, and then Marcell Ozuna got a hold of a hanging slider and put it in the seats for the walk-off two-run homer.
The Phillies lost 4-2 after 11, and dropped two of three in the first meeting between NL East rivals.
They'll leave Truist Park at 8-4, and still at the top of the division in the early race, but in a tie with the Mets now and with Atlanta finding some footing after a disastrous start to the year.
Marcell Ozuna delivers the #walkoff homer in the 11th inning to win it for the @Braves! pic.twitter.com/fzLqMZ6GRX
— MLB (@MLB) April 11, 2025
It ended up taking a long time to decide the series.
Here's a runback through how it all happened…
Luzardo locks in
Jesús Luzardo took his third turn on the mound Thursday night, and once again, he was dialed in.
The left-hander got tagged for a run in the first, but then kept the Braves in check for five innings after, notching six strikeouts and earning some tough outs in the process to get the Phillies out of a few jams unscathed.
He was sent back out for the sixth in a tie game, 1-1, and made efficient work of the side with his last two punch outs and then a Sean Murphy fly-out to right.
Luzardo, the offseason trade acquisition from the Marlins, has been excellent so far to start the year, having torn through the Nationals, the Dodgers, and now the Braves.
The only thing that was able to stop him was the rain.
Jesús Luzardo, Dirty 86mph Sweeper. ✝️🦎 pic.twitter.com/T7lSGz4q4p
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 10, 2025
A matter of time
The Phillies' relievers coming back from the delay did their part, up until they couldn't.
Carlos Hernández, Jordan Romano, Matt Strahm, and Tanner Banks – with some clutch defensive help from Alec Bohm and Trea Turner – each threw a scoreless inning through the 10th, and looked to be sitting pretty after Braves reliever José Suarez walked in a run with the bases loaded for the lead.
Alec Bohm and Trea Turner make a pair of nice plays and we are headed to the 11th! pic.twitter.com/1OrdwGeKRS
— MLB (@MLB) April 11, 2025
Ross just couldn't hold it together for the last three outs and got tagged.
The Braves won the waiting the game, and thus the series.
A 1-2-3 inning for Romano, though, is at least (hopefully) a good sign after his shaky start to the year. He got his fastball to scrape up against 97 mph, too.
JORDAN ROMANO REDEMPTION TOUR pic.twitter.com/SBt7tTtNpY
— Nick Tricome (@itssnick) April 11, 2025
Taijuan tough
Taijuan Walker got the first two outs and then suddenly had the bases loaded in the third on Wednesday night.
If this were last year, the likelihood is that scenario ends in disaster. It's just how 2024 went for the struggling right-hander.
But in this spot, he got Austin Riley to pop out in foul territory, and the Phillies got out of the jam clean.
Walker went on to battle for 4.2 scoreless innings, not pretty ones by any means, but enough to keep the Phillies in there until the offense could find a way to get going.
In the fifth, he fell into another two-out, bases-loaded jam and had the ball handed off to José Ruiz, who induced another Riley pop out into shallow right field.
It got the job done.
Walker was solid in his first start against Colorado, and then good enough against Atlanta to get the Phillies to a win. It's all they needed.
Walker wasn't supposed to be in the rotation to begin the season, but back issues with Ranger Suárez created an opening toward the back end of it, and he's been commendable in the role.
It might not last, especially now that Suárez is on his rehab assignment, but immediately into a new campaign, Walker stepped up and did his part to get the Phillies by, which at one point or another, is always needed in a 162-game grind.
Taijuan Walker’s night is done as he puts up another scoreless outing!
4.2 IP | 5 H | 0 ER | 3 BB | 5 K pic.twitter.com/5udCdmQYKB— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) April 10, 2025
Big-time hitters, big-time spots
On Tuesday, Kyle Schwarber fell a double short of the cycle, and on Thursday, with the Phillies down one in the third, he crushed a ball with zero doubt that it was headed for the seats – and for his NL-leading sixth homer of the season.
Kyle Schwarber ties the game with his NL-leading 6th homer! pic.twitter.com/MMPWEyvPFj
— MLB (@MLB) April 10, 2025
On Wednesday, Bryce Harper and Trea Turner were the heroes – first Harper with his two-run homer in the seventh while the Phillies were trailing, and then Turner's solo shot in the ninth for the go-ahead.
Trea Turner's 1st home run gives the @Phillies the lead in the top of the 9th! pic.twitter.com/SvFT3pHk17
— MLB (@MLB) April 10, 2025
Nick Castellanos also knocked in two runs on Tuesday, despite a losing effort, and entered the series finale batting .308 with a .911 OPS.
This lead is brought to you by Nick Castellanos pic.twitter.com/CrVZgQ1Kjo
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 9, 2025
As much as the Braves were struggling heading into this series, the Phillies weren't going to get by without their heavy hitters showing up, and in some crucial spots, they did…just not when Castellanos struck out five times on Thursday night/Friday morning.
Daycare in distress
It's been tough to say the same for Brandon Marsh, Alec Bohm, and Bryson Stott – formerly known as the Phillies Daycare.
All three fell into pivotal outs late in Tuesday night's series-opening loss, and in the case of Marsh and Bohm, their numbers at the plate have just been tanking.
Marsh entered the series finale Thursday night batting .143, and by the fifth inning, he was 0-for-2 hitting ninth in the order. It's not even about being unable to hit off lefties anymore. Marsh just hasn't been able to hit off anyone right now.
Bohm was batting .178, and went 1-for-10 with five strikeouts across the first two games against Atlanta. He got dropped down from cleanup to seventh in the order ahead of Thursday night's finale, and grounded into a first-pitch double play right back to Braves pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach that got the righthander quickly out of the sixth. Bohm was 0-for-3 by then.
Stott, to his credit, did get back on the upswing following an 0-for-4 night in the series opener. The second baseman went 2-for-4 in Wednesday night's win and knocked in the game's first run with a ground ball single that Ozzie Albies couldn't handle. Then he went 1-for-3 on Thursday with two walks and left the three-game set hitting .282.
Still, that's two of three relatively younger pieces to the Phillies' lineup that the club has been waiting on to take steps forward, but they're looking stuck right now.
Granted, the season is still young, too. There is a lot of time to snap out of it.
MORE: Edmundo Sosa can play left, the Daycare is a mess, other Phillies thoughts
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