Friday, September 15, 2023

Game 145 - Once Again, Bullpen Ruins Late Inning Comeback


Braves 7
, Phillies 6 (10 Innings)
Game 145 - Tuesday Night, September 12th in Philadelphia
Record - 79-66, 2nd Place, 16 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies dramatically scored five runs over the final three innings to tie the game, only to see the Braves quickly retake the lead in the 10th for the win.

What It Means:  This is getting to be an unfortunate pattern.

What Happened:  The Braves led the game 6-1 after six innings, as Zack Wheeler allowed three home runs to the powerful Braves offense in his short five-inning outing.  Nick Castellanos homered in the second for the Phillies' only early run.  In the eighth, now trailing 6-2, Bryce Harper hit a solo home to center, his 17th of the year.  Bryson Stott later would hit a two-run home run, getting the Phillies to within a run.  In the bottom of the ninth, Trea Turner greeted Braves' closer Raisel Iglesias with a solo home run, tying the game, 6-6.

But it was all for naught.  In the 10th, and with Craig Kimbrel on the mound, Eddie Rosario singled home ghost runner Forrest Wall to give the Braves a 7-6 lead.  The Phillies went down quickly and easily in the bottom of the 10th.

Featured Cards/Field Report:  All four of us attended this game, but Jenna and I had the pleasure of joining other ALS Night sponsors in the executive dining room for a pregame reception and dinner.  Seated at the table next to us was Shane Victorino and Larry Bowa, and admittedly it was difficult to stay focused on the food being put in front of us.  As Victorino has long been one of Doug's favorite players, we were able to bring the boys in for a very quick autograph and picture with the Flyin' Hawaiian.  I also showed Victorino the photo of him and Doug from 2007 Photo Day, and asked if he wanted to try to recreate that photo.  He passed, but not before making sure to get a picture of Doug in his Baseballism Maui shirt, which we had purchased earlier this month to support relief efforts needed as a result of the Hawaiian wild fires.  (Still available for purchase here.)

Following the dinner, we (mostly) enjoyed the game from our seats, missing the last few innings as it was a school night.  I was upset we missed the ninth inning comeback, but not upset we missed the 10th inning letdown.

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