After the third inning at Truist Park, the Braves announced a special guest: Bobby Cox, their Hall of Fame manager, was at the game, and they showed him on the big screen. A large applause ensued and Cox saluted the crowd.
On the field, the Braves played a crisp game. Their rookie stymied a rival. They launched a couple home runs.
They cruised to a 5-1 victory over the Phillies to even this three-game series. With Saturday’s victory, Atlanta gained a game on Philadelphia in the standings and is nine games behind the Phillies.
Five observations:
1. Spencer Schwellenbach could feel what everyone else did: This game had some extra juice. The Braves began the day trailing the Phillies by 10 games in the division, and they knew they would lose the series with a loss on Saturday. Before Schwellenbach threw a pitch, there was a 31-minute delay due to rain prior to the game.
Eventually, a sellout crowd of 41,006 watched as Schwellenbach stared down one of baseball’s top lineups.
“There was a little extra in the air, for sure,” Schwellenbach said. “Night game, had a little delay. But you could feel it. You could feel it in the dugout before the game. When I got on the mound, it was like, ‘Let’s go.’”
Schwellenbach held the Phillies to one run over six innings. He struck out six batters. He gave up seven hits but, unlike other starts, never had that one inning that got away.
How’s that for the rookie?
“Pretty good, huh?” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “That was very, very impressive – from the get-go.”
The Phillies are missing three of their stars. But as the Braves found out on Friday, they’re still powerful. They can do damage.
The Braves gave Schwellenbach a three-run lead with three runs in the first inning, and he ran with it. All things considered, this was his best start of the season. He allowed one run over six innings against the Tigers last month, but this felt different.
This game felt bigger.
Schwellenbach rose to the occasion.
“I think right now, he’s gonna be good for the rest of the season,” Marcell Ozuna said. “He’s got more confidence and he’s pitching a lot better than before.”
2. When he arrived at the ballpark on Saturday, the Phillies’ Ranger Suárez brought his 2.27 ERA. He will likely be an All-Star. He pitched well against the Braves in each of the last two postseasons.
On this night, Atlanta jumped on Suárez.
It started like this in the bottom of the first inning: Jarred Kelenic leadoff double, Ozzie Albies run-scoring single. Three batters later, Ozuna launched a two-run shot to give the Braves a three-run lead.
Context here: Suárez had allowed three or more earned runs in only four of 17 starts before Saturday. Atlanta hung three on him in the first inning, and five over five innings.
“Well, it’s good, because he’s tough,” Snitker said. “He changes speeds so well and can move his ball. So that was really encouraging to have that kind of a night off of him.”
The Braves’ struggling offense badly needed a game like this against a great starting pitcher. This time, Atlanta supported its starting pitcher.
“We’ve been facing him for a long time, and then every year and every (series) we face the Phillies, we face that guy,” Ozuna said. “He’s good. He’s really good.”
The Braves were better on Saturday.
3. Before the game, Cox went into the Braves’ clubhouse. He took a picture with the team.
“You don’t realize, none of these guys had ever met him,” Snitker said. (Albies actually had.)
This was one of Cox’s first trips to Truist Park for a game since he suffered a stroke in 2019. In 2020, he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He’s been out of the public eye for years.
Cox’s wife, Pam, was also in attendance. When he was shown on the big board, Cox waved back to the crowd that roared for him.
“I’m glad he experienced that, because hopefully he’ll come back,” Snitker said.
4. A play that might be forgotten: The Phillies put the leadoff man on base in the second inning after the Braves went up 3-0 in the first. With one out, Kody Clemens hit a ball to right field, took the hard turn at first and sprinted toward second.
Adam Duvall fired a missile to Orlando Arcia, who tagged out Clemens. Arcia held the tag as Clemens slid off the base.
Instead of having runners on second and third with one out, Schwellenbach had a man on third with two outs. He escaped unscathed.
“I mean, that’s huge,” Schwellenbach said. “Getting an out on the base paths is always huge. Instead of second and third there, it’s just a runner on third.”
After a mistake-filled loss in the opener, the Braves made a lot of winning plays on Saturday.
“You play a team like this, those outs are precious,” Snitker said. “And when you can get them like that, it’s big.”
Credit: Daniela Ramierez
5. It’s difficult to place extra importance on a July 7 game …
But Sunday is important for Atlanta.
The Braves and Phillies will play for the series. If the Braves win, they move within eight games of Philadelphia. If they lose, they’ll be 10 back with 74 to play.
“At the beginning of the season and of the series, I told my teammates, ‘Every time we play against the Phillies, it’s going to be a playoff (game). We have to treat it like a playoff game,’” Ozuna said. “If they’re winning, they’re winning. If we lose, we lose. And we have to continue to put in good work and go out there and battle in every single at-bat, every single outing.”
Stat to know
5 - The Braves’ five runs were their most in a game started by Schwellenbach. They plated 11 runs total over his first six starts.
Quotable
“It felt great. I’m happy we got a win and Bobby was there to watch it.” - Albies on winning in front of Cox
Up next
In Sunday’s series-deciding game, Reynaldo López will take the ball for the Braves against right-hander Michael Mercado and the Phillies. First pitch is at 1:35 p.m.
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