ATLANTA (AP) — Brandon Marsh’s tie-breaking, pinch-hit sacrifice fly in the eighth inning lifted the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night.
The win pushed the Phillies’ lead in the National League East to seven games over the Braves, with five games remaining between the two teams in the regular season.
“Every win is an important win,” said Phillies starter Aaron Nola. “No lead (in the division) is a big enough lead right now, especially with those guys over there. They always play us really good. It is always a challenge.”
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Weston Wilson went 2 for 3 and scored the winning run in the eighth after leading off with a double. Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner each had an RBI for the Phillies.
Nola pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and two walks. He struck out five.
“I tried to keep it at two as best I could and give the guys a chance to score some runs,” Nola said. “It was a good win.”
Matt Strahm (5-2) pitched a scoreless seventh to pick up the win.
Carlos Estévez earned his 22nd save, stranding runners on second and third to end the game.
Atlanta’s Max Fried had his best outing in four starts since his stint on the injured list coming out of the All-Star break. He gave up two runs on four hits in seven innings, striking out four. Joe Jiménez (1-5) took the loss.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson was happy with his team’s efficiency at the plate after his team scored three runs with just six baserunners in the game.
“We manufactured all three of our runs,” Thomson said. “Wilson leads off (the eighth) with a double. (Bryson) Stott pinch hits, long fly ball moves him over. Marsh pinch hits, long fly ball, gets him in. That’s how you win playoff games.”
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Orlando Arcia was 1 for 3 with his 12th home run, and Jarred Kelenic was 2 for 4 with a run scored for Atlanta.
Arcia’s home run in the fourth inning opened the scoring. With Kelenic on first after a leadoff single, Arcia lifted a ball that barely cleared the left field wall and gave the Braves a 2-0 lead. He appeared to stare at Bryce Harper while rounding first, something Harper did to Arcia while rounding second after hitting a home run during Game 3 of the National League Division Series in 2023.
“I was just enjoying my home run,” Arcia said through an interpreter after the game.
The Phillies tied the score with two in the sixth inning after Fried faced the minimum 15 batters in the first five innings. Edmundo Sosa led off with a single, and Johan Rojas followed with a double over the head of Kelenic in left field. Schwarber knocked the first run in with a groundout to short, and Turner plated Rojas with a sacrifice fly.
The injury-riddled Braves have started the last two games with three players who have been released by teams this season — Gio Urshela (Tigers), Ramón Laureano (A’s) and Whit Merrifield (Phillies). Each had at least one hit on Wednesday.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Braves: LHP A.J. Minter underwent season-ending hip surgery Wednesday. He last appeared on Aug. 11 and will finish his eighth season with the Braves 5-4 with one save and a 2.62 ERA. He enters the offseason as a free agent. ... C Travis d’Arnaud (wrist) was available if necessary. He was hit with a pitch Saturday. ... OF Jorge Soler (hamstring) ran the bases and is day-to-day with a potential return to the lineup later in the week. He pinch hit in the ninth inning and popped out.
UP NEXT
The Braves will start rookie RHP Spencer Schwellenbach (4-6, 4.04) against Phillies LHP Cristopher Sánchez (9-8, 3.46) in the series finale Thursday.
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