PHILLIES SHOOT THEMSEVLES IN THE FOOT! 9/11/26 POSTGAME RECAP

The Phillies scored 5 runs in 11 innings and got a stellar performance from veteran pitcher Aaron Nola, but could not find a way to squeeze out a win in a pivotal Game 1 of a series that the Phillies need to win to keep their division chances alive. The bats were again cold in regulation, as the Braves held the Phillies to just 4 hits in regulation, and Brooks Raley could not get the final out of the ballgame in the 11th, leading to a gut-wrenching 6-5 loss.

Aaron Nola started the game by giving up a solo shot to Matt Olson in the top of the first. Still, things were smooth for him for 5 full innings following that, up until Austin Riley hit his 7th career homer off of Nola, the 2nd most by a single active hitter against an active starter, trailing only Rafael Devers, who has hit 8 in his career off of Gerrit Cole. The two solo home runs led Nola to have a solid final line of 6.1 innings, 7 hits, and 2 earned runs. Nola left the mound with a 3-2 lead and was in line for the win.

Philadelphia’s only form of scoring in regulation was a 2nd-inning bases-clearing double, scoring Sosa, who hit a 2-out single, De La Cruz, who snagged a 2-out walk, and J.T. after a hit-by-pitch.

Jose Alvarado relieved Aaron, getting two strikeouts on Baldwin and Acuna Jr. at the top of the Braves order. Derek Hill got a leadoff walk to start the 8th before Dylan Lee got a double play ball on Kyle Schwarber and a flyout on Trea Turner. Alex McFarlane pitched a scoreless 8th for the Phillies, leading to a pivotal 9th inning with Philly still in the driver's seat, 3-2. Bryce Harper lined a leadoff double into the right-field corner off of Dylan Lee, before Arraez, Bohm, and Stott all went down consecutively to end the inning.

Jonathan Bowlan came in for the bottom half of the 9th with Duran unavailable. Bowlan struck out Riley, gave up a single to Yastrzemski, and then gave up a single to Sean Murphy, which was then bobbled by Derek Hill in left and carded an error to send the game to extras.

Justin Crawford hit a leadoff pinch-hit single in the 10th to score Stott, giving the Phillies the lead heading into the bottom of the 10th. Chase Shugart gave up a run on a deep sacrifice fly to center from Mauricio Dubon, tying the game up and sending it to another inning. In the 11th, Bryce Harper hit an infield single with one out, and Luis Arraez lined an RBI single into left field to score Garret Stubbs, who came into the game off the bench to replace Realmuto. Bohm and Crawford both struck out, with a Stott walk in between to bring up the bottom of Atlanta’s order in the 11th against Shugart, who quickly got a ground ball out at first, and was relieved by Brooks Raley, who was in need of two outs to win the first game of the series. Raley got a pop-up on Dom Smith before allowing a single for Ha-Seong Kim that scored Ozzie Albies. A few pitches later, Drake Baldwin crushed a ball on a line to center and into the gap, allowing Kim

to score and the Braves to win.

The Phillies will need more offensive firepower tomorrow than they had tonight if they want to win, as Tim Mayza (3-3, 3.23) starts the game as the "opener" in a bullpen game for the Phils against veteran Tyler Mahle (5-10, 4.05)