That went differently in my head: Braves 7, Phillies 2

Rhys Hoskins wasn’t going to play this one, which for some spelled doom already. Then the news that Edmundo Sosa, who has been hot lately and would have been in the lineup in place of Hoskins, went on the injured list and it deflated a little more. Finally, the lineup card was announced and a lot more air went out of the balloon.

It didn’t feel like a win.

Yet the Phillies stayed close the entire game. Ranger Suarez matched Max Fried pitch for pitch for most of the game. Though they didn’t have a hit through the first three innings, the game felt like it was evenly matched the whole time. In the fourth, they got their first hit when Kyle Schwarber ripped a two-iron over the fence, giving the Phillies their first hit, their first run and the lead.

It felt good, but the thrill only lasted a few batters when Suarez let William Contreras tie the game up with a solo home run.

It must have angered Jean Segura, that home run by Contreras, for when he approached the box in the fifth, he sat on a pitch from Fried, got it and destroyed it.

The way Suarez cruised through the fifth and sixth, followed by yet another dominant performance by Jose Alvarado in the sixth, it felt like the Phillies were going to sneak out of game one of this series with a victory. Particularly with Seranthony Dominguez on the mound for the eighth, one had to feel slightly secure that this game was over.

Welp.

A leadoff walk to Eddie Rosario, he of the .257 OBP, to begin the inning should have been the warning shot. The home run given up to Ronald Acuna definitely was it.

From there, Dominguez just lost it. Though he sandwiched two outs around a double by Austin Riley, it was obvious he had no control of his stuff. When he allowed a single to Contreras that scored Riley, that was his night. Nick Nelson was summoned to clean up the mess, but we all knew how that was going to go. All that was needed to complete the disappointing defeat was a defensive misplay to finish them off.

Yup, that’ll do it.

A tough play, sure, but one that could have been made with better communication all the way around the triumverate of Phillies participants.

The ninth saw no magic happening as Kenley Jansen was kept far away from the mound in Atlanta. The game was over and a possible stolen win was a giveaway loss. They’ll try again tomorrow night with Aaron Nola on the bump.