Braves Bounce Back, Even the Series With 7-6 Win
It was expected that a Nola-Fried matchup would be one that would lead to litte offense, but that was not the case. Fried (4.2 IP, 8 hits, 5 ER, 4 Ks) didn't make it out of the fifth, and a Jared Kelenic two-run homer (his first as a Brave) scored the Braves fifth and sixth run and chased Nola (5.2 IP, 9 hits, 5 ER, 6 R, 10 Ks) out of the game in the sixth to put them up one. The Phillies would tie the game in the bottom of the sixth as Trea Turner's (4-5, 2B, HR, SB) fourth hit, a single, knocked in Edmundo Sosa (2-4, HR) It looked as if the Braves bullpen would struggle again, but Reynaldo Lopez, AJ Minter, and Raisel Iglesias wouldn't let that happen.
The Braves would go up 7-6 in the top of the eighth with a Sean Murphy single knocked in Ozzie Albies (2-4, HR, SB). Minter would shut the door in the eighth, and Iglesias would get his first save of the season as the Braves move to 1-1 on the season.
The Braves offense was much better as everybody got involved, totaling 13 hits for the seven runs. Albies and Austin Riley have homered in both games to start the season. The bullpen had a good bounce back game.
The rubber match of the series will see Chris Sale of the Braves take on Ranger Suarez for the Phillies on the mound.