PHILADELPHIA — They’ve done something no other group of Atlanta Braves starting pitchers accomplished since the pitching mound was moved to its current distance in 1893, allowing three or fewer runs in 21 consecutive games.
And still, it hasn’t been enough to help Atlanta make much ground on the Philadelphia Phillies, whose 3-2 win in 11 innings on Nick Castellanos’ two-out walk-off single off Grant Holmes gave the Phillies a 3-1 series win and pushed their National League East lead to seven games over the second-place Braves.
The Braves won seven of 13 games in the season series with the Phillies but have not been closer than five games behind them since May 18, and they wasted a prime opportunity in this series. They have no remaining head-to-head matchups with the Phillies and only 25 games left in the regular season.
Their streak of six consecutive division titles is in peril, and the Braves are just one game ahead of the New York Mets for the third and final wild-card spot. They trail wild-card leaders, the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks, by three games.
“Honestly, I felt like we could have walked out of here with three out of four,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We didn’t execute enough. Tonight we had bases loaded and one out in the ninth — didn’t put a ball in play. We didn’t do the little things, and you have to against a good team. You can’t not take advantage of opportunities that are afforded you in a game like that.
“Honestly, we could have walked out of here with three of four, and been in good shape. But you’re going to play close games with this team. You’ve got to execute. You can’t make mistakes.”
The Braves went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position on Sunday. Before going three-up and three-down in both the 10th and 11th innings — when they failed to score despite starting each inning with a runner at second — the Braves wasted a major opportunity in the ninth.
They had the bases loaded and one out and Orlando Arcia had a particularly poor three-pitch at-bat against Matt Strahm in the ninth, swinging at two pitches far outside the strike zone and popping out on an infield fly — after the previous two batters had drawn walks against Strahm.
In the 10th, some questionable substitutions made by Snitker resulted in Adam Duvall pinch hitting with one out against righty Carlos Estévez.
Duvall has hit .146 with 70 strikeouts in 192 at-bats against righties, and a .408 OPS — that’s the worst in the majors among all hitters with as many as 100 at-bats vs. righties.
He struck out on four pitches.
Snitker said he went with him there because of the experience and because he didn’t want to go through that 11-inning game without using Duvall.
It was one of those nights for the Braves, who wasted a strong start by Spencer Schwellenbach and another terrific two-inning relief appearance from closer Raisel Iglesias.
“There’s no good way to sugarcoat it right now, it sucks losing the series,” first baseman Matt Olson said. “We had a chance to come in today and even it up. Obviously a tight game. Grinded it out, didn’t get the win. But it doesn’t change what we’re doing going forward. We’ve got a month left. Show up (Tuesday) expecting to win, and do that every day for the rest of the season.”
The Braves are where they are — seven games out of first place and fighting to maintain a wild-card spot — despite getting the best, most consistent starting pitching they’ve had in many years, and some of the best relief pitching in the majors.
“The staff’s done a tremendous job of keeping us in every game,” catcher Travis d’Arnaud said. “Not only the starting staff but the bullpen’s been doing a tremendous job. It’s just one of those days and one of those series where we didn’t put up a lot of runs like we did at Minnesota (a three-game Braves sweep last week). That’s part of 162, so just wash it and enjoy tomorrow, and come back Tuesday ready to go.”
Nick Castellanos celebrates his 11th-inning walk-off single against the Braves. (Eric Hartline / USA Today)
Takeaways from Atlanta’s 4-3 road trip to Minnesota and Philadelphia:
Starters in elite company
If you ask Charlie Morton, the elder statesman of Atlanta’s rotation, he doesn’t think it’s surprising that Braves starters have been able to limit opponents to three or fewer runs in every game since August 11.
“We have a group of guys who have really good stuff,” Morton said. “If you look at each of the guys in this rotation, I think stuff-wise, this has got to be one of the better rotations I’ve ever been a part of.”
Morton, 40, has been a part of some impressive starting rotations in his 17 MLB seasons, including the 2018 Houston Astros with Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr., and the 2019 Tampa Bay Rays with Blake Snell coming off a Cy Young season and Tyler Glasnow when not injured.
Before Braves starters recorded 203 strikeouts in August, no group of Braves starters in modern-era franchise history (since 1900) had as many as 200 strikeouts in any single month. No major league starters had done it since those Astros starters had 207 strikeouts in April 2018.
That 21-start streak with three runs or fewer includes five starts from rookie Schwellenbach, who limited the Phillies to two runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings Sunday; four starts apiece by Max Fried, ace Chris Sale and Morton; three starts by Reynaldo LĂłpez, and one by rookie Holmes, who moved back to the bullpen after LĂłpez returned from a three-week stint on the injured list.
Before the Braves’ current streak of allowing three or fewer runs, the longest for the franchise since 1893 was an 18-game stretch by the 1948 Boston Braves’ starters. Today’s Braves starters are one game from matching the longest such streak in the majors this season — the New York Yankees’ 22-start stretch during May and June.
Before Sunday, Braves starters led the NL in ERA (2.56), quality starts (12), strikeouts (141) and innings pitched (119 1/3) over the 20 games since their three or fewer runs streak began on August 11.
“It’s not very complicated,” Morton said. “Travvy and Murph (catchers d’Arnaud and Sean Murphy) have done a really good job game-calling. But I think these guys’ talent is just really, really good.”
Schwellenbach a not-so-secret weapon
Three of Schwellenbach’s 16 starts have come against the Phillies, and he’s 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in those games. He didn’t get a decision Sunday when he had a two-hit shutout and a 2-0 lead until giving up three consecutive two-out hits in the sixth inning, capped by Castellanos’ two-run double on an 0-2 slider that Schwellenbach left up in the zone.
Against the Phillies, Schwellenbach has allowed 15 hits and two walks with 17 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings. They didn’t advance a runner past first base against him Sunday until the sixth inning when Trea Turner singled with two out and went to third on Bryce Harper’s double. He was one strike away from getting through six innings with a 2-0 lead, but Castellanos ended that bid and Schwellenbach’s night.
Marcell Ozuna reacts after hitting a single in the first inning Sunday against the Phillies. (Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)
More Ozuna streaking, but …
Marcell Ozuna’s 23-game on-base streak ended Saturday, and it’s a testament to the season that the veteran DH is having that it was only the third-longest on-base streak he’s had in 2024.
He had a 24-game on-base streak in March-April and a 27-game streak in May-June. In the streak that ran from August 7 through Friday, he hit .367 with a .436 on-base percentage and .611 slugging percentage.
Ozuna and New York Yankees star Aaron Judge are tied for the MLB lead with 119 games in which they’ve reached base via hit or walk. Ozuna had a first-inning single Sunday before going hitless in his remaining four at-bats to cap an uncharacteristic series that saw him strike out nine times in 18 at-bats.
Ozuna’s Triple Crown bid has begun to fade during a 12-game homer drought. During that time, Shohei Ohtani has erased Ozuna’s once sizeable RBI lead — they’re tied with 98 — while opening a seven-homer lead over the Braves slugger, Ohtani with 44 to Ozuna’s 37.
(Top photo of Spencer Schwellenbach pitching against the Phillies: Eric Hartline / USA Today)
