Categories: 2020 Postgame Recaps

Nola, bullpen struggle as Phillies get blown out in Atlanta

Even with ace Aaron Nola on the mound, the Philadelphia Phillies could not contain the Atlanta Braves offense on Friday night. The right-hander made his shortest start in a Phillies uniform as the team was blown out 11-2 in Atlanta.

Aaron Nola struggled on Friday night. (Russell Lansford/Icon Sportswire)

Max Fried and company pitched a strong game to hand the Phillies their third straight loss. They drop to 9-13 on the year.

Top Plays

The Phillies scored one early against Braves starter Fried. They put together two bloop hits into right field from J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segura with two outs in the top of the first. Phil Gosselin knocked in Realmuto with an infield single, but Segura was thrown out after rounding second base to end the inning.
Scott Kingery made an unbelievable play in center field in the bottom of the second inning on a fly ball hit by Johan Camargo. With a runner on first, Kingery prevented an extra base hit — and possibly a run — with an incredible leaping catch as he rammed into the fence.

Atlanta quickly took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third on back-to-back home runs off Phillies starter Aaron Nola by Travis d’Arnaud and Marcell Ozuna. The home run by d’Arnaud also drove in Freddie Freeman, who singled against Nola. They tacked another run onto the lead on an RBI double by Camargo. Reggie McClain got the last out of the third in relief of Nola, who only lasted 2 2/3 innings.

With McClain still pitching in the fifth, Camargo hit another RBI double to extend the lead to 5-1, following two errors by third baseman Alec Bohm. Ender Inciarte drove in an additional run in the inning on a sacrifice fly that Andrew McCutchen caught on a dive. Bohm then made a nice stop on a ground ball hit by Dansby Swanson, but threw it away for his third error of the inning. The error allowed another run to score, bringing the Atlanta lead to 7-1. The Braves added four more runs after Cole Irvin was brought into the game on an RBI single from d’Arnaud and a three-run home run from Ozuna, his second home run of the night. It was a seven-run inning for the Braves that gave them an 11-1 lead.
Andrew Knapp, who replaced Realmuto earlier in the game, made it an 11-2 game in the top of the seventh with an RBI double to left field.
Left-handed reliever JoJo Romero made his major-league debut for the Phillies in the eighth inning. He struck out all three hitters he faced.
Chris Martin closed out the lopsided win for the Braves.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

Aaron Nola: 2 2/3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 2 HR, 71 pitches

Nola cruised through two innings, but couldn’t even make it out of the third. The back-to-back home runs all but sealed the fate of the right-hander’s outing, which was the shortest of his career.

Max Fried: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 0 HR, 91 pitches

The left-hander allowed a first inning run on three softly-hit singles, but would not let the Phillies score another run against him. The Braves ace pitched five extremely solid innings to put his team in a good position to win.

Phillies Nuggets Player of the Game: Marcell Ozuna

Ozuna posted a two-homer night in his new home ballpark. He had three hits overall, and drove in four of Atlanta’s 11 runs in the game.

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