Rafael Marchan made a major impact both at the plate and behind it as the Philadelphia Phillies edged the Atlanta Braves 5-4 in the opener of Thursday’s day-night doubleheader.
Marchan contributed a surprise home run—his first of the season—while Kyle Schwarber added his 19th, helping the Phillies secure their 11th win in their last 12 games.
Marchan also played the hero late in the game. After being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, he brought in the go-ahead run. Then in the ninth, he threw out a would-be base stealer to help preserve the narrow lead.
Atlanta starter A.J. Smith-Shawver exited in the third inning due to a reported elbow injury, adding to the Braves’ struggles as they dropped their sixth game in the last seven. They’ll try to avoid a series sweep in Thursday night’s nightcap, which features a pitching duel between Chris Sale and Zack Wheeler.
Tied 4-4 in the eighth, the Phillies got a leadoff single from Nick Castellanos—his fourth hit of the day—followed by a walk to Max Kepler. A sacrifice bunt and another walk loaded the bases, setting the stage for Marchan to be hit by a pitch from Daysbel Hernandez (3-1), forcing in the decisive run.
Closer Jordan Romano walked three and allowed a hit in the ninth, but Marchan caught Ozzie Albies trying to steal second. Romano then struck out Eli White with the bases loaded to end the game.
Marchan had earlier given Philadelphia a 2-0 lead with his two-run homer in the third. In the fourth, Atlanta’s Michael Harris II kept the Phillies from breaking it open by leaping to rob Kepler of a three-run shot.
Trea Turner added to the lead with an RBI single in the fifth, but the Braves responded in the sixth with run-scoring singles from Sean Murphy and Ronald Acuña Jr., cutting it to 3-2.
Schwarber’s solo shot in the seventh stretched the lead to 4-2, but Atlanta quickly tied it up with Murphy’s homer and back-to-back doubles from Acuña and Harris in the eighth.
Jose Ruiz (1-0) recorded the final out of the eighth to earn the win.
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