On Friday night, the Philadelphia Phillies opened up a four-game series with the Atlanta Braves (at home).
The Phillies lost by a score of 5-2.
John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia wrote: “The Phillies were shut down by Chris Sale for a 3rd time this year. The Phils struck out 7 times against him and the Phils were 0-6 with runners in scoring position. He has beaten the Phils all 3 games against them this season.”
Philadelphia Phillies Manager Makes Honest Statement
After the game, manager Don Mattingly met with the media (via NBC Sports Philadelphia).
Reporter: “Considering that now you’re five back of the leader with fewer matchups against them and fewer games left in the schedule, how much pressure does tonight’s loss put on the ensuing games against the Braves?”
Mattingly: “I think every one of them’s pressure now. We’re not in the playoffs. We’re not guaranteed anything. So every game’s pressure at this point, pretty much the rest of the way. So again, they’re all the same at this point. It’s not a matter of who you’re playing. It’s you need to win a game.”
Don Mattingly says there’s pressure on every game moving forward.
Looking At The Phillies Right Now
The Phillies are the second-place team in the National League East with a 79-62 record in 141 games.
With the loss, they are now 5.0 games back of the Braves for first in the division.
That said, they can trim that to 2.0 games if they are able to win the final three in the series.
Over their last ten games, the Phillies have gone 6-4 (and they are 38-31 in 69 games at home).
Following the Braves, the Phillies will remain at home to host the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.
Matt Gelb of The Athletic wrote: “The Phillies have allowed 36 runs in the last two postseasons, and 31 of them have come in the sixth inning or later. It’s hard to ignore that as the Phillies try to arrange the proper bullpen mix this month while Orion Kerkering stumbles again:”
Philadelphia Phillies Manager Makes Honest Statement After Braves Game