Game 2 Recap: Braves Lose 7-5 as Phillies Rally in Wright's Start

After a thrilling game one victory, the Braves look to complete the doubleheader sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Braves battled earlier, but as they scored, Philly seemed to have an answer, even if it took until their final out. Eventually, Atlanta would prevail in extras from some fantastic situational baseball and an MVP performance from Acuña.

Kyle Wright makes his first appearance since May 3rd. While has had a tough season even before his injury, the Braves are hoping he can return to his 2022 form, where he won 21 games. Come October, the fourth starter looks as if it will be the largest question mark heading into the postseason.

Game Summary

The game started with a walk to Acuña, who was slated to play DH for some extra rest. Even in game one, Philly pitchers kept trying to pick off Ronald. On the first attempt from Lorenzen, he sailed a ball past Cave's head at first base. Acuña took off for second and was able to make it to third. Lorenzen would strike out the next two batters, until walking Matt Olson, putting runners on the corners. Sean Murphy finished the inning, hitting a line drive hard, but right at Schwarber in left field.

Wright got off to a rocky start, giving up a single to Schwarber then another to Trea Turner. Giving up the two singles, Wright loaded the bases after walking Bryce Harper. J.T. Realmuto followed with a sac-fly to give the Phillies the first run of the game.

The inning continued with a Bryson Stott HBP to reload the bases, then Castellanos singling softly to right field. The score was now 2-0, Wright came back striking out Brandon Marsh. However, the Phillies kept swinging, as Edmundo Sosa doubled to deep left center scoring Stott and Harper, and eventually ending the inning at 4-0.

The Braves came back in the top of the second going down 1-2-3. Wright went back out in the second with a chance to bounce back. After a walk to Schwarber, the young pitcher started dealing, tossing a ground out to Turner, striking out Harper, and popping out J.T. Realmuto.

Nicky Lopez started the top of the third, hitting a deep line drive off the top of the wall to left field, reaching second on a double. Acuña followed, hitting a fielder's choice to second, but Lopez beat the tag, keeping runners at first and second.

Michael Harris II both came up, flying out to opposite outfields. Just when it looked like the Phillies would get out of the inning unscathed, Matt Olson hammered a ball 397-ft to deep left. With his 49th of the year, Olson brought the game to 3-4 Philadelphia.

The bottom of the third looked much more like 2022 Wright, retiring the side in just eleven pitches. The fourth would prove to be more difficult, as Sosa singled, and then Cave doubled to make the game 5-3. It was the final batter for Wright, who showed both good and bad tonight. While the first inning was rough, he bounced back, not letting the game get too out of hand.

Jackson Stephens came in to fill in for Wright. Jackson made his last appearance in 2022 but has pitched well in 24 2/3 innings in AAA. His first opponent, Schwarber, sacrifice bunt, struck out, looking like he hadn't missed a step. Nevertheless, Trea Turner followed with a double, bringing home Cave to make the score 6-3 Philly. The following two batters went down quickly, as Harper gave a sac bunt, and Realmuto flew out.

Outside of a single from Michael Harris, the Braves did not do much in the top of the fifth. Philadelphia came back, grounding out and striking out. Yet, in a slow day thus far, Brandon Marsh hit a 422 ft shot to deep center, moving the score 7-3.

While the lineup may have been slow, Olson was keeping Atlanta alive. For his 50th of the season, Matt hit a solo homer to left-center, making it 7-4. The solo shot put Olson one homer away from tying Andruw Jones for the franchise record.

After the home run chased Lorenzen, Jeff Hoffman came to the mound. The Phillies reliever got Murphy to fly out, then Rosario on a nine-pitch at bat. Arcia would apply some pressure, hitting a hard ground ball off the Sosa, who made a wild throw. Arcia moved over to second, but the final out of the half inning came on a three-pitch strikeout to Pillar.

Stephens returned in the sixth, retiring the side in order. Moving to the top of the seventh, the Phillies replaced Hoffman with Gregory Soto, who put out Lopez and Acuña. However, Harris came up, knocking a solo shot 420 ft to right center. The home run was Harris's second of the doubleheader and 16th of the year, putting the score at 7-5 with Atlanta inching closer.

The bottom of the seventh was the final inning for Stephens, who did fantastic in his return to the MLB. He struck out Harper again, then J.T. Realmuto reached on a throwing error. Byrson Scott followed, hitting into a fielder's choice that was a good throw away from being a double play. Stephens's night ended on a walk to Castellanos but provided much-needed relief for the bullpen over the long day. Pierce Johnson filled in, striking out the side to end the inning.

Neither team was able to do any damage in the eighth. The Braves went down in order, but Johnson looked excellent when returning to the mound. The righty struck out four in a row, bringing Atlanta to the final inning with the score still 7-5 Phillies.

In the Braves' final chance, Arcia led off the top of the ninth against the familiar Craig Kimbrell. The 13-year pitcher struck out Orlando, then got Pillar to ground out to third. Nicky Lopez came up driving a single to center with two outs, bringing Acuña to the plate. Ronald almost snuck a ball through the infield, but there would be no comeback. Harper made a good catch on the hop and tagged first to end the game.

It was not the best Braves performance, but they battled hard in what was mostly a test'em game. Kyle Wright struggled but showed flashes of his arsenal. On the other hand, Stephens pitched very well, nearly stretching his relief appearance to four games. For the bats, Matt Olson was able to knock two homers, but the Braves could not get consistent bats going, having a few innings going down in order.

Pitchers of Record

W: Michael Lorenzen: : 5.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 96 NPIT

L: Kyle Wright: 3.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 62 NPIT

Braves Bullpen

Jackson Stephens: 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 57 NPIT

Pierce Johnson: 1.1IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 18 NPIT

Homeruns

Matt Olson ( 49, 50 )

Brandon Marsh ( 10 )

Michael Harris II ( 16 )

Next Game

September 12th vs. Philadelphia Phillies, 6:40 p.m. EST on BSSE