| Atlanta Braves | 5 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 4 |
 |
| 1990 Donruss #312 |
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
80-63, 2nd Place, 5 games behind the Braves
80-63, 2nd Place, 5 games behind the Braves
One Sentence Summary: Ronald Acuna, Jr. blasted a three-run home run off rookie Alex McFarlane in the eighth inning, spoiling what was perhaps Aaron Nola's strongest outing of the year.
What It Means: When the Phillies lose recently, it continues to be because of the bullpen, lack of clutch hitting, or both. They would look to even up the the series on Labor Day afternoon with Jesus Luzardo taking the mound.
What Happened: Nola went seven strong innings, allowing a run on four hits and striking out five. He departed with his club holding a 4-1 lead thanks to Alec Bohm's two-run double in the first and solo home runs from Derek Hill and Kyle Schwarber in the eighth. McFarlane got the ball in the eighth inning, allowed a single to Mike Yastrzemski and a double to Drake Baldwin before losing the battle to Acuna. The Braves' slugger connected for a long, three-run home run and then flapped, skipped and danced around the bases, sarcastically giving the booing Phillies fans a curtain call upon returning to the dugout.
What It Means: When the Phillies lose recently, it continues to be because of the bullpen, lack of clutch hitting, or both. They would look to even up the the series on Labor Day afternoon with Jesus Luzardo taking the mound.
What Happened: Nola went seven strong innings, allowing a run on four hits and striking out five. He departed with his club holding a 4-1 lead thanks to Alec Bohm's two-run double in the first and solo home runs from Derek Hill and Kyle Schwarber in the eighth. McFarlane got the ball in the eighth inning, allowed a single to Mike Yastrzemski and a double to Drake Baldwin before losing the battle to Acuna. The Braves' slugger connected for a long, three-run home run and then flapped, skipped and danced around the bases, sarcastically giving the booing Phillies fans a curtain call upon returning to the dugout.
In the ninth, Ozzie Albies led off with a double against closer Jhoan Duran, and scored the game's eventual winning run on a triple from Austin Riley. The Phillies got the tying run to third in the bottom of the ninth with just one out, but Bryan De La Cruz lined out to short and Edmundo Sosa struck out swinging to end the ballgame.
Featured Card: I spent time this weekend organizing a 5,000-count box of junk wax era cards, and learned there are multiple versions of each of the cards from the 1990 Donruss set, due to different splatter designs on the fronts of the cards or LEAF, INC. showing up on the backs either with or without a period at the end. Mike Maddux looks how this discovery, and this Phillies game, made me feel.
Featured Card: I spent time this weekend organizing a 5,000-count box of junk wax era cards, and learned there are multiple versions of each of the cards from the 1990 Donruss set, due to different splatter designs on the fronts of the cards or LEAF, INC. showing up on the backs either with or without a period at the end. Mike Maddux looks how this discovery, and this Phillies game, made me feel.
