Brandon Marsh hit a three-run homer and Nick Castellanos added a go-ahead two-run shot as the host Philadelphia Phillies rallied for a 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday.
In the opener of an important four-game series between the top two teams in the National League East, Philadelphia overcame a 4-0 deficit to post its fifth victory in six games. The win may have come at a cost, however, as Phillies All-Star third baseman Alec Bohm exited early with left hand discomfort.
Matt Olson crushed his 24th and 25th home runs for Atlanta, which now trails Philadelphia by six games in the division. The Braves entered having won nine of 11.
The Phillies had at least one baserunner in each of the first five innings against Charlie Morton but were unable to dent the scoreboard. Meanwhile, the Braves built a 4-0 lead thanks in large part to Olson, who hit a mammoth two-run homer in the third inning and added a solo shot in the sixth.
Castellanos opened the bottom of the sixth with a single and advanced on a one-out hit by J.T. Realmuto. Morton then started Marsh with back-to-back curveballs, and the Phillies’ center fielder sent the second one over the left-center field wall to get the hosts within 4-3.
Marsh’s 14th home run was followed one inning later by Castellanos’ 19th of the season. Trea Turner drew a leadoff walk against Aaron Bummer and advanced to third on a sacrifice and a groundout. Atlanta then summoned Grant Holmes (2-1), who promptly gave up Castellanos’ decisive blast over the center field fence.
Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez yielded four runs (two earned) and seven hits over 5 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out eight. Orion Kerkering (3-2) worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings before giving way to Matt Strahm, who struck out Olson as part of a scoreless eighth.
Jeff Hoffman pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 10th save.
Morton allowed three runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings. The veteran right-hander walked four and struck out seven.