The Philadelphia Phillies shut out the Atlanta Braves 3-0 in Atlanta to win the first game of the NLDS taking a 1-0 advantage to start the best of five series. This was an impressive win for the Phillies as the Braves entered the playoffs with the best regular-season record in the MLB.
Left handed pitcher Ranger Suarez got the start for Philadelphia as he faced off against Cy Young award contender Spencer Strider of the Braves. Suarez limited the Braves offense to a lone hit in the 3 ⅔ innings he pitched until manager Rob Thomson pulled him from the game and brought in Jeff Hoffman to finish off the inning.
Meanwhile on offense, the Phillies showed aggression both at the plate and on the base paths. Left-handed leadoff batter, Kyle Schwarber doubled on the first pitch from Strider to start the game off strong for Philadelphia in the top of the 1st inning. Then, Turner reached on a fielder’s choice and Harper singled as well. While the team did not put up numbers on the scoreboard that inning, it gave them a strong boost of momentum that carried them through the rest of the game.
Neither team manufactured a run until the top of the fourth inning. Bryce Harper advanced to second base after an error committed by Spencer Strider. Then, Bryson Stott knocked a single into left field to score Harper and make the Phillies the first team on the board.
Then, to lead off the top of the sixth inning Bryce Harper crushed a solo homerun over right field to extend Philadelphia’s lead to 2-0.
Strider’s night ended after striking out eight and only giving up two runs. However, the Braves high-powered offense could not generate any runs to match Philadelphia’s score.
The Braves bullpen began to struggle following Spencer Strider’s exit. In the bottom of the 8th A.J. Minter got pulled from the game after Trea Turner singled and stole two bases in addition to Harper walking and swiping a bag. Pierce Johnson then entered the game but gave up a walk to load the bases which brought JT Realmuto to the plate. With two outs and two strikes on the batter, the Braves’ catcher Sean Murphy interfered with Realmuto’s swing when the bat clipped the string of his glove. Realmuto was awarded first base and a run scored adding to Philadelphia’s lead.
In the bottom of the 8th inning, Philadelphia’s fifth reliever of the night entered the game to face a strong part of Atlanta’s lineup. Matt Strahm allowed several runners to reach base, however Trea Turner made an incredible diving stop followed by a double play to get his team out of the inning without giving up any runs.
Down to their final 3 outs in the bottom of the 9th, the Braves offense scored no runs while Craig Kimbrel secured Philadelphia’s victory as the team’s sixth reliever of the evening.
Thomson’s strategy to utilize his bullpen paid off in the end as the Braves only got 5 hits in the Phillies’ shut-out victory.
The next game of the series will be held on October 9 in Atlanta, then both teams will travel to Philadelphia for the next two games of the series before heading back to Atlanta for the final game of the series.
