It wasn’t easy for Philly, but it sure was exciting.
Braves starter Charlie Morton struggled with his command, allowing the leadoff runner to reach in five of the first six innings. But the Phillies’ offense squandered early opportunities, keeping Morton off the hook until Marsh went the opposite way for his 14th homer of the season, slicing the Braves' lead to 4-3.
Then came Castellanos.
With two outs in the seventh, the slugger—Philly’s most consistent power threat in the second half—launched a towering shot to center off reliever Grant Holmes (2-1). The homer, Castellanos' 12th career go-ahead blast in the seventh inning or later, sent the 40,000-plus fans at Citizens Bank Park into a frenzy. Just days after a three-run homer off Justin Verlander helped the Phillies shut out Houston, Castellanos once again proved he thrives in the spotlight.
Orion Kerkering (3-2) earned the win in relief, fanning two over 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Jeff Hoffman closed it out in the ninth for his 10th save.
The Phillies seemed poised to coast to the NL East crown after a blistering start, posting the best 60-game record since the 2001 Mariners. But a mid-summer slump made this series against the Braves—a team they’ve bounced from the playoffs each of the last two years—pivotal. Matt Olson did his best to spoil the party, homering twice for Atlanta, including a monstrous 450-foot shot over the batter’s eye in center field in the third inning.
All-Star Cristopher Sánchez, given an extra day of rest ahead of this key matchup, delivered a solid outing but was hampered by a third-inning error from Trea Turner that set the stage for Olson’s first homer, giving Atlanta a 3-0 lead. Orlando Arcia, a thorn in the Phillies’ side all season, added an RBI double in the second. Sánchez was pulled after allowing seven hits and four runs over 5 2/3 innings.
Philly’s slow start followed a forgettable outing the day before when they were no-hit into the eighth inning and fell 10-0 to Houston. The blowout loss also resulted in Taijuan Walker being demoted to the bullpen, where he’ll finish the season in a long-relief role.
Olson added his 25th homer of the year in the sixth—a solo shot off Sánchez, marking his 24th career multi-homer game. The Phillies, however, suffered a scare when Alec Bohm exited after the second inning with left hand discomfort, an injury that appeared to occur on an awkward swing in his first at-bat. Edmundo Sosa replaced him, and Bohm’s status will be reassessed before Friday’s game.
The Braves will send Reynaldo López (7-4, 2.02 ERA) to the mound on Friday against Phillies lefty Ranger Suárez (11-5, 2.82 ERA).
