The Philadelphia Phillies suffered a devastating defeat in Game 1 of their NLWC matchup with the Atlanta Braves, losing 5-3.
Being able to scratch three runs across against Chris Sale, and Jesus Luzardo gutting it out through five unexpected inning, put the team in a great position, with their star closer, Jhoan Duran, coming into the game in the seventh inning to try to get the Phillies to the end.
After mowing down the Braves in the seventh and getting the first two batters of the eighth inning out, Duran unraveled. Michael Harris hit a chopper over the mound to get on base, Ozzie Albies was hit with a pitch and Austin Riley hit a three-run home run to put Atlanta ahead for good.
Heading into Game 2, Philadelphia will be counting on Cristopher Sanchez to keep their season alive on the mound. In support of him, interim manager Don Mattingly has made some changes to the lineup.
Going up against right-handed pitcher Tyler Mahle, the Phillies are not as right-handed-heavy in their starting lineup. Bryan De La Cruz, who started in left field in Game 1, is headed to the bench, along with Derek Hill, who started in center field and shifted to right field later on.
Taking their spots will be Brandon Marsh, who is in left field and batting sixth, and Justin Crawford, who is in center field and batting eighth.
Another shake-up is the batting order. No, Philadelphia fans, Trea Turner isn’t being moved from his leadoff spot as the starting shortstop. He remains there with designated hitter Kyle Schwarber and right fielder Bryce Harper behind him.
The biggest change is being made behind Harper. Bryson Stott, who is back to second base with Luis Arraez injured, is hitting cleanup as protection for the team’s star. Alec Bohm, who got the Phillies started with an RBI double in the top of the first in Game 2, is playing first base and batting fifth.
It is certainly a risky decision to bat three left-handed hitters in a row like that, as it makes Philadelphia easier to game plan against later in the game. One of the reasons that Bohm found so much success was having opportunities against southpaws being sandwiched between left-handed hitters.
With Edmundo Sosa playing third base and batting seventh, Braves manager Walt Weiss could confidently turn to a right-handed pitcher out of the bullpen and take his chances with Brandon Marsh in a platoon advantage with Bohm and Sosa facing a tough righty.
Behind the plate once again is J.T. Realmuto, who is batting ninth and came up with a clutch RBI triple to put the Phillies ahead in the top of the seventh inning yesterday afternoon.
This group needs to hit and score as much as possible because it is anyone’s guess what the bullpen situation is going to look like behind Sanchez, who needs to work as deep into the game as possible.
Sign up for our free newsletter to receive the latest news and updates!
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleÂ
