The Braves’ final game at Citizens Bank Park this season was a classic pitchers’ duel between Touki Toussaint and Aaron Nola. It was Toussaint’s finest performance, but Nola was a tad better, resulting in the Braves losing to the Phillies 2-1 Sunday afternoon.
And so the Braves split the four-game series in Philadelphia to begin their all-important National League East road trip. The series was, in many ways, a microcosm of the team’s frustrating but not-out-of-it season.
Toussaint has struggled with command and with runners on base in his early career, which has led to his yo-yo experience between the majors and Triple-A. But Toussaint hasn’t had such issues in his first two starts back in the majors. And Sunday, he delivered his best outing.
Once again, Toussaint was poised and confident. He exceeded six innings for the second straight start. He went a career-best seven frames, allowing one run on five hits. He struck out a career-high 10, including two in a perfect seventh, and didn’t issue a walk.
“I’d say just taking it day by day,” Toussaint said of the biggest difference from one year ago. “I know I sound repetitive, but I’m not looking ahead and I’m not looking in the past. If I have a bad one, I’ll say, ‘OK, that was a bad one and you’ll do what you have to do today.’ If I have a good one, it’s over with. I don’t try to get ahead anymore. In the past, I felt like I got ahead of myself. Or I’ll be doing really well and say, ‘alright, you have to stay right there,’ instead of taking it pitch by pitch. The biggest thing for me is saying, ‘I am where my feet are. Let’s go attack.’ ”
In two starts, Toussaint has allowed two runs on eight hits across 13-2/3 innings. He’s struck out 15 and walked two.
“I’m just trying to throw it in the box,” Toussaint said. “I don’t really look at the stat line until it’s over with. You look at the results then and then you move on. But for me, the biggest thing is fill up the box and let everything else work.”
Manager Brian Snitker: “It was (dominant). I look at that, and it’s four in a row (Toussaint made two strong starts in Triple-A Gwinnett before his promotion). It’s effective. His focus, his intent is to attack hitters. He’s forcing swings with the stuff he’s throwing. Man, it’s really good. The delivery to me looks simpler. I’ve learned in this game you have to have patience with players. Most of the time, we don’t. But you never know when talented guys might figure things out. It looks like Touki might be starting to figure things out. He should be very confident in what he’s doing, that’s for sure, because it’s been really, really good.”
Unfortunately for the Braves, Nola was likewise masterful. The LSU product has had an underwhelming season by his standards, but he was in complete control against the Braves. Nola was nearly flawless, allowing only three hits until third baseman Austin Riley homered with two outs in the ninth, ending Nola’s day. He struck out nine and didn’t walk a hitter. Nola had allowed 15 earned runs across his past three starts (16 innings) entering the day.
Phillies second baseman Jean Segura was the difference offensively and defensively. Segura has tortured the Braves this season, but Sunday was his magnum opus.
Segura loomed large in both the Phillies’ victories in this series. Two days ago, he had the key hit in the Phillies’ win when he golfed a low pitch from Max Fried to score two runs. His solo shot Sunday was the only damage against Toussaint. Thirteen of his 33 RBIs this season have come against the Braves.
Riley led off the seventh with a double. Shortstop Dansby Swanson shot a ball up the middle that initially looked like it’d be a hit, but Segura slid and prevented the ball from reaching the outfield. He threw to first for the first out.
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Riley was left stranded at third after Nola retired Abraham Almonte and Guillermo Heredia. Segura had helped saved the Phillies with his glove. Nola perfectly navigated one of his few trouble spots.
“When he got in tough situations, he was the old Nola,” Snitker said. “That’s why he’s one of the better ones in the game. That was a good ballgame. A pitchers’ duel. You don’t see that a whole lot. Those two guys were getting after it, that’s for sure.”
Infielder Ronald Torreyes added an insurance run with a solo homer off Chris Martin in the eighth. It proved a vital one after Riley’s late homer. Riley was the only Braves hitter who had a good day with three extra-base hits off Nola.
Only three games remain between the Braves and Phillies this season. They’ll face off during the Braves’ final homestand, Sept. 28-30. The Braves finished 3-7 at Citizens Bank Park this season, the fifth consecutive campaign they’ve posted a losing record in Philadelphia.
The Braves begin the biggest series of their season Monday, when they open a five-game set with the first-place Mets in New York. Monday will feature a doubleheader, with games started by Braves youngsters Kyle Muller and Bryse Wilson, respectively.
“These guys are grinding through a rough stretch,” Snitker said. “We had four days off (at the All-Star break) and we came out of the gate and played a three-and-a-half, four-hour game that wore them right back to where they were before they went on vacation. That’s something we’ll have to fight our way through. We have to win these games. This is a big series. It’s five games against the team we’re chasing. We can rest in the winter. We have to get after it right now.”
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