Takeaways from Atlanta's Easter Afternoon Loss to the Philadelphia Phillies

The Braves, going for a series sweep, instead saw the bullpen unable to hold a late lead in the series finale

Atlanta Braves starter Chris Sale pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies / Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves almost got a sweep in the division to start the season, narrowly dropping game three to the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 5-4.

Here's what you need to know from the contest:

This team's first inning offense is still absurd

In Atlanta's first three games, Ozzie Albies has hit three fly balls in the first inning with Ronald Acuña Jr. on base. On Opening Day, it was caught in deep center field. But the other two were both homeruns, including today, staking the Braves to an immediate two-run lead just two batters into each game.

Last season, on their way to tying the MLB record with 307 homers on the season, Atlanta set a record with 47 first-inning homers. They're already at two on the 2024 season and (small sample size alert) are on pace for 108 homers in the opening frame. Their franchise record 146 first-inning runs last season were the most in the Majors since the 2000 Cardinals scored 147.

And for Albies, it's a great sign for his 2024 power production to exceed last season's career-high of 33 homers. Not bad for a guy that couldn't even crack this "Top Ten Second Baseman" list from MLB Network this offseason, huh?

Chris Sale acquits himself well in his first Braves start

Despite the rude welcome to the NL East from Kyle Schwarber, who homered on the 2nd pitch of the game, Sale showed why Atlanta was willing to give up Vaughn Grissom to get him in their rotation.

Sale worked through a jam in the fifth to minimize the damage, with Philly getting only one run in the frame despite having no outs in the inning when they loaded the bases. Sale's fastball and slider were the stars in this one, as the lefty picked up eleven of his twelve whiffs on the two pitches.

Chris Sale's 2Ks in the 2nd. pic.twitter.com/OjsglWNFc8

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 31, 2024

Sale's final line: 5.1IP, 5H, 2 ER, 2BB to 7Ks on 83 pitches (53 strikes)

Both teams battled back and forth during the middle innings

Today's game was much closer than the first two blowouts of the weekend, with Philly taking a late lead thanks to timely hitting and some mislocated pitches from offseason trade acquisition Aaron Bummer. The lefty Bummer, who pitched the sixth inning, took the loss after giving up two runs to Philly on four hits.

Atlanta attempted to battle back, scoring a run in the 8th inning thanks to a base hit from Ozzie Albies. Pinch hitter Jarred Kelenic scored from second base as Nick Castellanos, who has one of the softest right field arms in baseball, didn't attempt a throw home to prevent the run.

But Atlanta couldn't seem to push across the final run, leaving three runners on base in the game and going only 2-6 with runners in scoring position on Sunday.

What's next for the Atlanta Braves?

The Braves move on to Chicago for a three-game set with the Chicago White Sox. Charlie Morton makes his first start of the season tomorrow at 2:10PM ET, facing off against righty Chris Flexen.