Until the bottom of the eighth in Monday’s game between the Phillies and Braves, hitters might as well have used Wiffle Ball bats. The game was scoreless with Atlanta having just two hits and a hit batter for their offense. The Phillies had just three hits and two walks.
Jesus Luzardo was well in charge for the Phillies and starter Grant Holmes gave the Braves six innings before handing things over to Didier Fuentes. In the bottom of the eighth, Fuentes got the first two batters before facing Kyle Schwarber. With left-hander Dylan Lee warmed up in the bullpen, Braves manager Walt Weiss stayed with Fuentes and Schwarber made him regret the decision. Schwarber got a 2-2 fastball down the heart of the plate and hammered it 415 feet into the second deck at Citizens Bank Park for the first – and what would turn out to be – the only run in the game.
Luzardo came out to pitch the top of the ninth and got Ha-Seong Kim on a flyball to center before pitching around Ronald Acuna Jr., who drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch. Luzardo ran another 3-2 count to Drake Baldwin before striking him out and Ozzie Albies took the first pitch he saw to left field for an innocent flyball that ended the game.
It was the first complete game as a professional for Luzardo and checked throwing a complete game shut out off of his bucket list. He allowed two hits, a walk, and hit a batter while striking out 12 in the game. To throw the complete game, Luzardo needed 109 pitches, 78 of which were strikes.
Jhoan Duran was not available out of the bullpen after getting his 30th save Saturday night and then pitching again in Sunday’s loss. Interim manager Don Mattingly did have Jonathan Bowlan and Jose Alvarado throwing in the bullpen in the ninth inning.
The win gave the Phillies a split of the four-game series with Atlanta, keeping the Phils four games behind in the NL East. After three games at home with Houston, the Phillies take a three-game trip to Atlanta next weekend as they attempt to pull closer in the division while holding on to the top spot in the wild-card race. They currently have a 1/2 game lead over the Chicago Cubs for the top spot.
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