Eight runs in a single inning. That’s what the Atlanta Braves dropped on the Philadelphia Phillies Saturday night, making it clear this wasn’t going to be another nail-biter after their epic 11-inning marathon Friday. The Phillies were already down a key arm with Jesus Luzardo scratched due to long-running shoulder soreness, and the Braves wasted no time pouring it on when the opportunity struck.
Harper’s Message Ignites a Firestorm
Tyler Mahle looked comfortable early, cruising through the first two hitters of the game. Then Bryce Harper stepped up and absolutely blasted a monster homer, taking a comical amount of time rounding the bases. You know that was a clear shot back at the Zach Wheeler comments about Ronald Acuna’s home run celebrations last week. The Phillies had to be feeling pretty good sitting on that 1-0 lead for a couple of innings. But man, that feeling evaporated faster than a puddle in the Georgia sun.
The Braves Unleashed Hell
The fourth inning was when the Braves essentially ended the game, unleashing an 8-run explosion. Ronald Acuna kicked off the madness with a towering homer of his own, though he kept his trot decidedly normal. From there, it was a clinic in piling on: a walk, followed by three singles, then an error, a wild pitch, another walk, Drake Baldwin’s double, and finally, Acuna stepping back up for a single to bring home the inning’s last run. It was a relentless assault that left the Phillies reeling.
Mahle Masterclass Seals the Deal, Phillies Bullpen Drowning
Mahle, after giving up that Harper bomb, settled right back in and cruised through 7.0 innings of 1-run ball with zero walks, even if he only stacked up 7 whiffs and 3 strikeouts. The Braves weren’t done adding, either. They put up another run in the sixth thanks to an Acuna ABS strikeout-turned-walk, an Olson ground ball error, and an Ozzie sac fly. The Phillies managed to scrape one back in the eighth with a solo homer from Crawford off Brent Suter, but the Braves quickly answered with three more runs in their half of the eighth. Kiersey singled, Albies doubled, and Harris crushed a homer off the right field foul pole against Philly’s position-player pitcher. Suter closed things out in the ninth, leaving the Braves needing only two pitchers for the whole night. The Phillies’ bullpen, on the other hand, is in rough shape after that 11-inning grinder on Friday and then this blowout bullpen game. Can they possibly recover for tomorrow? Catch the next game at 1:35 PM ET and see if they can somehow stop the bleeding.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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