The Bullpen blows it again... Phillies Postgame 9/29/26

The Phillies dropped Game 1 to Atlanta and are now on the brink of the season's end. Atlanta has historically struggled against Philly in the postseason, but they have been great against the Phillies at Truist Park this year. Austin Riley, a Philly killer in the past, hit a 3-run homer in the 8th with two outs to give Atlanta the lead and, eventually, the win.

The Phillies would strike first on a 1-out RBI double that scored Kyle Schwarber, giving the team an early burst of offense to potentially build off of. The game would be knotted up at 1-1 until the top of the 7th.

Jesus Luzardo returned to the mound for Philadelphia today and looked strong in 5 innings, giving up 3 hits and one run. Alex Macfarlane then came in to relieve him and gave up the go-ahead run on an Ozzie Albies triple to the wall in center that scored Harris II. The Phillies offense would then score their first runs since the first inning in the 7th on a JT Realmuto triple that scored both De La Cruz and Stott, who reached on a hit by pitch and a single. The 8th inning is where things would start to fall apart for Philly, as in the top half they would not be able to add to a 3-2 lead, but had high hopes with closer Jhoan Duran coming out of the bullpen.

Duran has struggled this year in games where he has had to come out earlier than the ninth, and this afternoon was no different. The inning would start out with two quick outs on a line drive back to Duran from Matt Olson and a fly out from Mauricio Dubon.  That sequence would be followed up by an infield single from Michael Harris II, and then Ozzie Albies was hit by a pitch to set the stage for a crucial 2-out at-bat with 2 on for Austin Riley against Duran.

The at-bat did not go the way Duran wanted it to, and Riley drove a 385ft high missile to center to give the Braves a 5-3 lead and shrink the Phillies' hopes of winning game one. Dylan Lee would get his second straight 1-2-3 inning to earn the Game 1 win for Atlanta.

With the Phillies down to their last leg, it will be interesting to see what changes Mattingly makes to a lineup that has recently struggled at the plate, scoring 1 run or less in 6 of their last 8 contests, and those two that they did get above one run were only 3-run showings. That is not enough to go anywhere in the postseason.  

Christopher Sanchez will pitch tomorrow and try to help the Phillies avoid early elimination. The veteran Tyler Mahle will go for Atlanta.

Photo Creds: Yahoo Sports