For much of the last day of August, it looked like the Philadelphia Phillies would walk off the field at Citizens Bank Park following a four-game sweep over the Atlanta Braves.
Starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo was rolling and allowed two hits through 6.2 innings. However, the Phillies' offense produced just five hits on the evening and none after their lead evaporated following the eighth inning. Still, despite the loss on Sunday evening, the Phillies took three out of four games in the series against Atlanta. Thanks to some losses by the New York Mets against the Miami Marlins this weekend, Philadelphia travels to Milwaukee with a 6-game lead at the top of the N.L. East.
Marsh’s solo HR provides lone spark for Phillies offense in loss
Brandon Marsh went 1-4 on Sunday night, but that one hit produced the Phillies' only run in the ballgame in the fourth inning. Marsh unlocked a scoreless tie with a deep fly ball that sailed over the light blue IBX.com banner above the right field video boards for a 1-0 lead.
'Overall, the Phillies struggled against Braves starter Hurston Waldrep. “Oh, his stuff was good,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said postgame. “We haven’t seen him before, but that’s no excuse. His stuff is really good. He’s got a really good pitch mix. He attacks the zone. His split is a swing and miss pitch. He’s got good stuff.”
Philadelphia managed five hits on the evening, with 80% of those coming off of Atlanta’s starter. Outside of the solo HR to Marsh, Waldrep allowed three singles to limit the Phillies' offense and keep Atlanta in the ballgame long enough to conduct a late rally.
Philly’s only other hit was a triple from Kyle Schwarber with two outs in the seventh inning, but the Phillies were unable to capitalize after Bryce Harper flew out to center field to end the inning.
Luzardo deals on Sunday Night Baseball
While his stat line is impressive on its own, those numbers don’t tell the whole story of how good Luzardo was on Sunday night. Heading into the fifth inning, Luzardo was on no-hitter watch as he perplexed Braves hitters early on.
”Yeah, he was great,” Thomson said postgame. “Velo was good. First pitch strikes were good. Lots of swing and miss. Slider was outstanding … threw a handful of change-ups. I thought he was outstanding.
Atlanta outfielder Michael Harris II singled off Luzardo in the fifth inning for the Braves' first hit of the evening. The Phillies lefty walked the next hitter but sauntered off the mound following back-to-back strikeouts to end the fifth inning with a 1-0 advantage still intact.
Harris singled again in the seventh inning, which caused Thomson to turn to the bullpen following 104 pitches from his starter. David Robertson entered the game and secured the final out of the sixth inning with the Phillies still holding a 1-0 advantage.
Bullpen blows slim lead late
Orion Kerkering entered to start the eighth inning, but he could not find the strike zone. The 6-2 righty did not record an out and left the bases loaded for Tanner Banks to clean up. Banks did the best he could in a no-out, bases-jammed situation. His first batter, Braves slugger Matt Olson, grounded out to Bryson Stott on a fielder's choice that scored a run from third base to tie the game at 1-1.
Jose Alvarado entered for the ninth inning. He allowed a single before retiring the next two hitters to put pressure on Atlanta. However, a first-pitch fastball to Drake Baldwin was left over the plate and ended up above the orange “Asplundh” strip above the left field wall for a deflating 3-1 Braves lead.
The Phillies were unable to rally in the bottom of the ninth as Nick Castellanos, Harrison Bader, and Stott were sat down in order.
Primetime battle with Milwaukee on the horizon for Phillies
The Phillies’ record drops to 79-57 in 2025 following the loss to Atlanta. Still, there are plenty of positives for Philadelphia as they head into September with a multi-game lead in the National League East.
“You know, it’s huge,” Thomson said of the six-game division lead. “I think they responded really well, and they usually do because they're an experienced club. They’ve got short memories and played really well. Atlanta played well, too, especially in the last three games. So, it was a good series. A good series win, too.”
The Milwaukee Brewers welcome Philadelphia to town for a three-game series starting tomorrow at 4:05 PM at American Family Field. The Brewers are the best club in the National League, boasting an 85-53 record and a 61% win rate in 2025.
The Phillies are sitting at a 58% win rate as they seek their 80th victory this season. Taijuan Walker, Aaron Nola, and Ranger Suarez are the three scheduled starters for Philadelphia in the three-game set.
