ATLANTA - The series that the Phillies have long hoped would save their season got off to a very bad start Thursday night.
The Phils moved a step closer to being eliminated from the National League East race in a demoralizing 8-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park.
The Braves' magic number for clinching the division is down to four. The two teams play three more times through the weekend and the Braves could be popping champagne corks before then.
The Phillies trail the Braves by 6½ games with 10 to play.
Old friends and enemies
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Remember Jesse Biddle, the kid from Germantown Friends School who was selected by the Phillies in the first round of the 2010 draft? He was on the mound for Atlanta for two outs in the top of the seventh and got the win in relief of Kevin Gausman.
Remember Lucas Duda, the lefty-hitting slugger who tormented the Phillies for many years with the New York Mets? He did it again with a tie-breaking RBI double in the bottom of the seventh inning. The hit came against Tommy Hunter. The veteran reliever allowed a leadoff double to Dansby Swanson before Duda stroked his go-ahead hit to right field.
The Braves acquired Duda from Kansas City for cash at the end of August. He has 22 doubles, 22 homers and 54 RBIs in 289 career at-bats against the Phillies.
So sloppy
Phillies starter Vince Velasquez allowed three runs over three innings. All of the runs were the result of some sloppy play by the Phillies.
The Braves scored two runs in the first inning. They would not have scored any if the Phillies could have turned a double play on a hard-hit ball by Freddie Freeman with one out and a man on first. Carlos Santana, who started at third base, was shifted into the shortstop position. Freeman smashed a one-hopper that ate up Santana and went for a hit. If the Phils were not in a shift, Asdrubal Cabrera would have been in the spot occupied by Santana. He'd have had a better shot at fielding the ball and turning a double play.
The second run of the inning scored when first baseman Rhys Hoskins failed to go for a 3-6-3 double play. Hoskins got the double play, but first eliminated the force by tagging first base before going to second. That allowed a run to score.
The Braves scored their third run on a sacrifice fly to center field after a wild pitch by Velasquez allowed a runner to move to third base.
The Phils were down by just a run in the bottom of the eighth. Manager Gabe Kapler entrusted Luis Garcia over Seranthony Dominguez and Hector Neris to keep the game close and he failed. He allowed two hits, two walks and four runs.
Just too many costly miscues in the team's most important game of the season.
The lineup
Velasquez has a tendency to give up fly balls. That was the reason Kapler chose to go with his best defensive alignment in the outfield. Roman Quinn started in center field, Odubel Herrera in right and Aaron Altherr in left.
Hoskins stared at first base and Santana at third.
Up next
Nick Pivetta gets the ball against Julio Teheran in the second game of the series on Friday night. Pivetta is 1-1 with a 3.43 ERA in four starts against the Braves this season. However, he has a 5.97 ERA in his last six starts. It's safe to say that this will be the most important start of Pivetta's career.
