Braves Get No Brotherly Love from Phillies in Game 3 Loss

Last-minute miracles weren’t there to save the Braves tonight.

The Braves struggled through most of the game as a mocking Philly crowd poured on the noise and taunts, as Atlanta lost to the Phillies 10-2. The team who let their bats do the talking against opposing teams in regular season play is struggling through the postseason with their bats in the deep freeze. Starting pitching is lackluster so far too, with game 3 starting pitcher Bryce Elder blown away by Phillies hitting after two innings of work.

The Braves started off promising, with a solo home run at the top of the 3rd by Ozzie Albies that was quickly answered by Phillies Nick Castellanos with a solo homer of his own. From that point on, the Braves swam upstream, and the current got no smoother as the game went on.

The Phillies would go on to tack on 5 more runs in the 3rd, driving Elder off the mound and adding four more runs through the rest of the game. Tough Phillies pitching by Aaron Nola (9 strikeouts) kept the Braves from scoring but one run. Not one Braves batter got more than two hits tonight.

Phillies fans showed the Braves as much mercy as the players in red: none. Fans taunted the Braves with their own versions of the Tomahawk Chop and yelled “We want Strider” near the end of the game when it was obvious Spencer would be the next pitcher to save the Braves from an early exit from the postseason.

Bryce Harper, the Phillies 1st baseman who’s becoming one of Atlanta’s sports class of hated villains, got two home runs off Braves pitching Tuesday. Castenellos, Trea Turner, and Brandon Marsh all scored homers for the Phillies. According to ESPN, the Phillies are now the 4th team in postseason history to have multiple players hit multiple homers in the same game. Only the 2021 Dodgers, 2020 Padres and the valued 1932 Yankees with legends Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth in the roster, had as many.

It’s hard to believe the Braves are on the verge of being eliminated from postseason play after winning a league-best 104 games (to the Phillies’ 90) and seeing the red-hot bats from Braves hitting propel those regular season numbers. But reality is not their friend right now. The Braves are running out of opportunities to extend their season. Tomorrow they play the fourth game of the NLDS at Citizen’s Bank Field in Philly. If the Braves don’t win, the Phillies go to the NLCS and the Braves go home.

Winning Pitcher: Aaron Nola 2-0, 1.42 ERA✅ Losing Pitcher: Bryce Elder 0-1 20.25 ERA