Braves Beat Phillies 9-3 In Eighth Inning To Begin Defense Of NL East Title

(CTN News) – Braves fans are looking forward to their series against the Phillies in March.

There’s still a long season to go, of course. The Braves have six months to beat the Phillies in these final October games. This is after losses in the last two years thwarted World Series hopes.

In Friday’s season opener, Matt Olson tied a career high with three doubles, including a bases-loaded double in a seven-run eighth inning for the Braves. Harris II scored on an RBI single in the eighth inning to break the tie and ignite a breakout inning. Connor Brogdon allowed two runs and Alvarado five.

Despite rain delaying the game a day, Atlanta’s Pierce Johnson pitched a scoreless seventh. Snitker said his team would be thrilled to win – not because a third showdown was inevitable, but because it’s needed.

I can’t do that, Snitker said. We talked about it right away. It’s easy to say it, it’s easy to do. It’s crucial to win today. It doesn’t work like that if you want to fast forward.”

For the Phillies, Brandon Marsh hit a two-run home run.

Zack Wheeler’s strong outing was ruined by a late collapse in the Phillies’ 142nd opener. On opener day, Wheeler threw 89 pitches and six shutout innings. The game was tied 2-2 in the seventh when Matt Strahm hit a two-RBI double.

With our lineup, we can’t miss,” Duvall said. Strider gave up Marsh’s shot after five innings. It was a chant of “Strider!” for Strider. It’s already playoff time for 44,452 Phillies fans.

One of baseball’s fiercest rivalries is Phillies-Braves. In 2021, they won the World Series and won six straight NL East titles. They earned wild-card berths both seasons, and beat the Braves at Citizens Bank Park.

As a result, the Phillies missed out on a World Series ring last season after blowing a 3-2 lead. It’s getting closer the last couple seasons. Rob Thomson, Phillies manager, said it’s real. They’re really into it. There’s not a lot of talk about this. Some days it comes up.”

Nobody in Atlanta has illustrated two seasons like Strider. Strider went 8-0 against the Phillies in the regular season. Against Philadelphia in the postseason, Strider is 0-3 with a 5.40 ERA. The Phillies unveiled their powder blue 2023 flag. The blue flags were raised for the 1980 and 2008 World Series wins; the white flags were raised for the division titles.

The Phillies flopped with Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos going 5 for 53 (.094) with 11 walks, 22 strikeouts and two RBIs. Their performance against five Braves pitchers continued a troubling trend of 1 for 15 and eight strikeouts.

“I don’t have any excuses,” Schwarber said. It’s still fastball time.”

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