The Atlanta Braves hoped to continue their success from Thursday evening and take an early series lead in their four-game set with the Phillies. Jared Shuster took the mound for Atlanta and was opposed by Tijuan Walker. Shuster has seen his share of struggles this season but his last start against Seattle was a step in the right direction.
Shuster was a little shakey when pitching to Bryson Stott as he allowed a lead-off single and then a wild pitch allowed Stott to advance to second. However, Jared was able to settle in and get the next three batters in order.
The third inning was definitely a challenging one for Shuster as he started the inning by striking out Josh Harrison but then walked the next two batters. He was able to get Bryce Harper to fly out and get an important second out but Nick Castellanos ended up hitting a two-run triple to give the Phillies an early 2-0 lead.
Atlanta was finally able to get on the board in the fourth inning as Travis d'Arnaud and Marcell Ozuna both reached base to give the Braves runners on the corners. Austin Riley led off the inning and just missed a monster homer to left field. It looked like the win had blown it back into play right at the wall. Eddie Rosario did drive in the first run for Atlanta with a sacrifice fly but that was all the offense could muster.
The fifth inning featured a lead off single from Orlando Arcia and he was then driven in by Michael Harris II to give Atlanta a 3-2 lead. It was nice seeing Harris with a nice swing as he's really struggled this season. It's a very encouraging sign to see him putting some nice swings together recently.
$awry 𝘯𝘰𝘵 $awry🤑@MoneyyyMikeee with the two-run dinger to left center‼️ pic.twitter.com/ylNdl9B9LE
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) May 27, 2023
Shuster was able to keep the Phillies at two runs but in the sixth inning he walked Bryce Harper to start the inning. He was able to get the next two outs before Snit decided to bring in Joe Jimenez to finish out the inning. Shuster finished the day with 5.2 innings pitched allowing three runs on three hits with three walks and five strikeouts.
The move for Jimenez was unforunately not a successful one as he would walk the first two batters faced to load the bases. He then allowed a two-run single to Brandon Marsh and that gave Philadelphia a 4-3 lead over Atlanta. Josh Harrison then flied out to end the inning for the Phillies.
The Braves were able to get runners on against Tijuan Walker as he allowed ten hits over 6.2 innings. They were only able to get three runs home against him and Walker only issued one walk and only struck out one batter. Atlanta just could not capitalize with runners in scoring position.
The seventh inning was yet another struggle for the Braves bullpen as Lucas Luetge allowed two more runs to score in just 0.2 innings pitched. Lucas threw a total of 42 pitches allowing two runs on three hits and walking one batter before being replaced by Collin McHugh who was able to get the Braves out of the inning at a 6-3 deficit.
McHugh had an uneventful eighth inning and finished the night after 1.1 innings allowing just one walk but more importantly no hits and no runs. Atlanta got one run back in the bottom of the inning thanks to a Marcell Ozuna homer to pull them within two runs of the Phillies but that was all they could get.
Marcell Ozuna has homered in three straight games. The Braves have cut the deficit to two runs. It should, at the very least, be an interesting finish.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) May 27, 2023
Jesse Chavez pitched a scoreless top of the ninth inning and turned things over to the offense. Atlanta had two fly outs to start the bottom of the inning but had a chance after a walk to Michael Harris II led to Ronald Acuna Jr having a chance to tie things up against former Braves closer Craig Kimbrel.
Unfortunately, Acuna grounded out to third base to end the inning and led to a 6-4 loss in game two. Kimbrel recorded his 400th career save with that final out in the ninth. It was another tough night for the Braves as the bullpen struggles just continue to mount.
Charlie Morton takes the mound for Atlanta in game three and will face off with Zach Wheeler. That game will start at 4:10 PM EST at Truist Park in Atlanta. You can catch the game on Bally Sports Southeast and FS1.