Inside The Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies Stun Atlanta Braves With Huge Comeback Win

The Philadelphia Phillies rallied to shock the Atlanta Braves in Thursday's series opener.

Tyler Maher

Aug 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jeff Hoffman and catcher J.T. Realmuto shake hands after a victory.
Aug 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jeff Hoffman and catcher J.T. Realmuto shake hands after a victory. / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
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The Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves kicked off a pivotal four-game series at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday, and the opener didn't disappoint.

The first half of the game was all Braves, who raced out to a 3-0 lead through three innings. Matt Olson's second home run of the game off Cristopher Sanchez -- a solo shot to lead off the top of the sixth -- extended Atlanta's lead to 4-0.

With Charlie Morton cruising for the Braves, things weren't looking good for the Phillies, who were coming off a brutal 10-0 shutout loss to the Houston Astros the day before.

Philadelphia's slumbering offense suddenly sprang to life in the bottom of the sixth. Following singles by Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto, Brandon Marsh cleared the bases with one out, belting a three-run bomb to the opposite field off Morton for his 14th homer of the year.

With one swing of the bat, it was a brand-new ballgame.

Both starting pitchers exited with two outs in the sixth, setting up a battle of the bullpens.

Atlanta's immediately blinked first. Aaron Bummer issued a leadoff walk to Trea Turner in the bottom of the seventh, and Turner advanced to third with two outs following a Bryce Harper sacrifice bunt and an Edmundo Sosa groundout.

That brought up Nick Castellanos, who smashed a go-ahead two-run homer off Grant Holmes into the trees beyond the center field wall. His 417-foot blast sent the crowd of 40,451 into a frenzy.

Matt Strahm and Jeff Hoffman took it from there, holding the Braves scoreless over the final two innings to preserve the 5-4 victory. Fittingly, former Phillie Whit Merrifield grounded out to end the game, capping an 0-for-5 night from the leadoff spot.

The win improved Philadelphia's record to 79-55, six games ahead of second-place Atlanta in the NL East standings. The two teams will square off again on Friday in a potential pitching duel between All-Stars Reynaldo Lopez (7-4, 2.02 ERA) and Ranger Suarez (11-5, 2.82 ERA).

First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET.

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Tyler Maher
TYLER MAHER

Tyler is a writer for Sports Illustrated's Inside the Phillies. He grew up in Massachusetts and is a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Red Sox. He went to Tufts University and played club baseball for the Jumbos. Since graduating, he has worked for MLB.com, The Game Day, FanDuel and Forbes. When he's not writing about baseball, he enjoys running, traveling, and playing fetch with his golden retriever.

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