The Phillies picked the worst possible time to go cold. Atlanta exploded for 12 runs Saturday, leaving Philadelphia staring at a major blow to its NL East hopes. After the 12-2 loss, and with one game against the Braves remaining, Bryce Harper had a message about the team’s postseason push, with an emphasis on not worrying about others.
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“We can’t, you can’t worry about what other teams are doing, especially when you’re in this situation. So, we’ve got to play better baseball,” said Bryce Harper on NBC Sports Philadelphia’s X clip.
The Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves have regularly clashed this season. Especially in April, they played six games against one another, and the Braves thoroughly dominated them. They went 1-5 during that span; the last game (6-2) prompted former manager Rob Thomson’s exit.
“If we don’t, we’re not going to be in,” Harper continued in the X clip. “So, I mean, I think as a team, we’ve just got to look in the mirror, understand what we need to do on a nightly basis, and guys got to grind. Guys got to be able to throw big innings for us, and do their job, and also, you know, get hits when they need to.”
Under manager Don Mattingly, the Phillies met the Braves again for a four-game set in September. This time, the stakes were higher, as the Phillies held a spot in the NL Wild Card race. They split the series 2-2, with Jesus Luzardo shutting down the Braves in a complete game. But he didn’t recover well, and the Phillies have scratched him from Saturday’s start.
Trailing the NL East leaders, the Braves, by 4 games, the Phillies entered the series on Friday aiming for the NL East title. But the Phillies dropped the series following consecutive losses and now trail the Braves by 6 games.
After Luzardo was scratched, Tim Mayza took the mound on Saturday. He logged another incredible outing. He delivered three scoreless innings for the Phillies and extended his streak to seven consecutive outings, and has now allowed a run in just one of his last 14 outings. Bryce Harper homered in the top of the first to give the Phillies an early lead.
He celebrated his home run with a painfully slow trot around the bases, channeling his inner Ronald Acuna Jr. at Truist Park. He even came to an almost stop at third base to gesture with his hands. Turns out, it was Harper’s attempt to get even with the Braves. Last week, Acuna Jr. pulled a similar stunt that angered the Philadelphia Phillies. At the time, ace Zack Wheeler was pitching for them.
“I really didn’t think about it,” Harper said, per MLB.com. “Obviously, they’re going to boo me when I come in here. They love their players. They love their team. Ronnie’s a great player. He’s going to do what he needs to do to help his team win. And he’s done that, especially in the season series.”
However, Harper’s revenge slow trot ultimately backfired as the Phillies bullpen imploded after Mayza’s exit. They were already an exhausted group, having pitched during the extra-innings 6-5 loss the day before.
On Saturday, Brooks Raley took over in the fourth and struck out the leadoff hitter. But then the game unraveled as he allowed a solo homer to Acuna Jr. After retiring Matt Olson, Raley loaded the bases by walking Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II.
Hoping to escape the two-out jam, manager Don Mattingly sent Grant Holman. Holman did more harm than good. After not throwing for 13 days, Holman allowed consecutive singles, including a two-run hit to Mauricio Dubon.
Then, Sean Murphy hit a grounder, but instead of an out, a throwing error from Bryson Stott gave the Braves another run. The fourth inning continued to implode, as Austin Riley scored on a wild pitch and Baldwin and Acuna Jr. both recorded RBI hits. Holman finally ended the inning, putting the Phillies in an 8-1 hole.
The Phillies recorded one more run as Justin Crawford homered in the eighth inning. But that was it for the Phillies’ offense. The Braves completed the Philadelphia rout with a three-run shot from Michael Harris II off backup catcher Garrett Stubbs on the mound.
With an 82-67 record, the Phillies currently hold the second NL Wild Card spot, but with a thin 1.5-2.5 game cushion over the playoff cutline, and the Miami Marlins are 9 games behind the Phillies. Now, a bad week could easily see them out of the playoff picture. Hence, they need to play better baseball if they want a deep postseason run.