Baserunning miscue looms large for Phillies in series-opening loss to Braves

ATLANTA — Bryce Harper was off and running.

Alec Bohm had hit a grounder right to Braves shortstop Mauricio Dubón, but by the time Harper realized his mistake, it was too late. He was frozen between second and third, and Dubón had him dead to rights.

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Harper was tagged out for the second out in the top of the ninth, and the Phillies’ best chance at an insurance run went up in smoke.

And when the Braves tied the game in the ninth, and again in the 10th, before finally walking off the Phillies, 6-5, in the 11th, the mistake cast an even longer shadow.

As the game marched into extras, the Phillies were unable to build a lead of more than one run. And the Braves kept punching back, until finally breaking through with an RBI double from Drake Baldwin to win the series opener in Atlanta.

It stung all the more because the Phillies had managed to put up three runs on Braves lefty Chris Sale. The second-inning rally, capped by a bases-clearing double from Derek Hill, had been their only sustained offense against him, but it was starting to look like it was all they needed.

Aaron Nola worked his way around heavy traffic for 6⅓ innings, keeping the damage to a pair of solo home runs. José Alvarado relieved him and delivered two big strikeouts of Baldwin and Ronald Acuña Jr. The rookie Alex McFarlane turned in a scoreless eighth in a big spot.

Harper’s mistake is just latest in a long line of baserunning blunders the Phillies have committed in this recent stretch.

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With Jhoan Duran unavailable, Jonathan Bowlan had the ninth with a one-run lead. He allowed back-to-back singles, and it didn’t help that Hill bobbled Sean Murphy’s hit to center field, allowing Mike Yastrzemski to tie the game at 4.

Justin Crawford, who had been stuck on the bench for nine innings and a 47-minute rain delay before that, finally had his name called in the 10th, and he kept the Phillies’ hopes alive. The rookie outfielder turned on a fastball and sent it to center field, deep enough to score the ghost-running Bryson Stott for a 5-4 lead.

The Braves tied things back up at 5 in the 10th against Chase Shugart with a sacrifice fly. Luis Arraez’s RBI single temporarily put the Phillies back in front, 6-5, before Ha-Seong Kim tied the game against Brooks Raley with a single and Baldwin won it.

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The Phillies and Braves are set to square off again this weekend in Atlanta, so it’s the perfect time to check in with Jeff Francoeur, who played for both teams and calls Braves games on TV and radio. Francoeur joined Phillies Extra to help break down the race for NL East supremacy. Watch here.

You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Previous episodes: Luke Murton | Mike Hazen | Tony Gwynn Jr. | Kevin Stocker | Bobby Dickerson | Jim Bowden | John Middleton | Ryan Howard | Dan Baker | Ricky Bottalico

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