The Phillies staged a comeback to tie Atlanta on a Kyle Schwarber homer in the seventh inning, but the Braves rallied to a 5-3 win.
, that a popular talking point is whether the Phillies will be able to make a trade to boost the offense in the MVP’s absence.Now and always, it seems, the Phillies are a few relievers short of a reliable late-inning crew. The reminders are frequent. Whether it’s deposed closer Corey Knebel getting the seventh inning instead of the ninth, or well-traveled Andrew Bellatti coming into the eighth inning of a tie game, the bullpen is a perpetual problem.
And it’s not like the Harper-less Phillies didn’t have other issues against the Braves. They had starter Charlie Morton on the ropes with two on and nobody out in the first and third innings but scored just one run. Rookie infielder Bryson Stott got picked off first base in the second inning. There isn’t room for mistakes. And late-inning leads must be protected in a way that they haven’t been around here since 2020.Bryce Harper set to undergo thumb surgery Wednesday; ‘no timeline’ for his return, Phillies say
But Olson took Bellatti deep, the Braves added a run against Brad Hand in the ninth inning, and the momentum was gone.In Harper’s absence, with Nick Castellanos moving back to the DH role, Thomson said he’s committed to giving Moniak more at-bats.Moniak is 0-for-15 with nine strikeouts against lefties as a major leaguer, while Lee is deadly against left-handed hitters. The Phillies also had righty-hitting Matt Vierling on the bench.
But Schwarber clearly tagged from second base and advanced to third. Thomson challenged the call and got it overturned before the Phillies eventually stranded Schwarber at third base.