Final: Phillies 5, Braves 0
WP: Aaron Nola (6-2, 3.56 ERA) LP: Ryan Weber (0-1, 3.00 ERA) SV: Ken Giles (12)
Philadelphia, PA – The Philadelphia Phillies (54-85) rode a fantastic outing by rookie pitcher Aaron Nola to a victory over the Atlanta Braves (55-84) on Tuesday night. After the worst outing of his young career his last start, Nola threw seven innings of scoreless baseball and reached a new career high in strikeouts for a single game with seven. The Braves weren't entirely handcuffed by Nola, as he allowed six hits and one walk. However, he maintained his composure and pitched out of any jam he faced.
For the away team, right-hander Ryan Weber was looking to make the most out of his major league debut. Weber was originally drafted by the Phillies in 2008, but chose not to sign and instead spent a year at St. Petersburg College before being drafted by the Braves the following year. From 2009 through 2015 in the Braves' minor league system, Weber was 31-33 with a 3.89 ERA.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Braves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Phillies |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | - | 5 | 9 | 1 |
Both teams were relatively quiet on the offensive front until the top of the third, when the Braves got their first two men, Andrelton Simmons and Michael Bourn, on base from a single and walk, respectively. Nola struck out the opposing pitcher, Weber, but the runners moved up to second and third when catcher Cameron Rupp's pick-off throw sailed into center field. However, that was as far as the Braves' men on base would go, as Nola struck out Nick Markakis and got Hector Olivera to fly out to center field to end the threat.
The Phillies didn't get their first hit until the fourth inning, when Cesar Hernandez hit a ground-rule double on fan interference. Odubel Herrera followed with a single to left field, which put runners on first and third with no outs. Hernandez scored on a 6-4-3 double play by Aaron Altherr.
They tacked on another run in the fifth, when Andres Blanco hit his third triple of the season and was knocked in by a single by recent call-up Brian Bogusevic, who got the start in left field tonight.
The Braves threatened in the eighth inning after Nola departed, getting the first two men on base against Phillies' set-up man, Luis Garcia. However, Garcia was able to get the next two men out before being removed in favor of closer Ken Giles. Giles walked Nick Swisher on four pitches, but then got Jace Peterson to line out to shortstop for the final out.
It seemed like this was the end of the scoring in the game, but that changed in the bottom of that inning. Herrera added on to the Phils' lead in the bottom of the eighth with a three-run homer to right field off of Braves reliever, Danny Burawa, knocking in Jeff Francoeur and Hernandez. Altherr followed the homer with a walk, but after a Braves pitching change, the struggling Ryan Howard grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Giles returned for the ninth inning. It was still considered a save situation, as he had entered the game when the score was 2-0. He struck out two of the three batters he faced in that inning and continued his perfect save percentage since being named the Phillies' closer.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Weber | 6.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Aaron Nola | 7.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 3.56 |
- Weber: L; 74 pitches, 48 strikes; 11 groundouts, 2 flyouts; 20 faced batters
- Nola: W; 85 pitches, 60 strikes; 7 groundouts, 2 flyouts; 27 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Braves
- Andrew McKirahan (7th): 0.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 0 HR, 6.14 ERA
- Danny Burawa (7th, 8th): 1.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 12.79 ERA
- Ross Detwiler (8th): 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 0 HR, 7.10 ERA
Phillies
- Luis Garcia (8th): 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 HR, 3.30 ERA
- Ken Giles (8th, 9th): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HR, 1.48 ERA
At the Plate
Braves
- A.J. Pierzynski: 2-4, .295 AVG
- Nick Markakis: 1-4, 1 K, .297 AVG
- Freddie Freeman: 0-4, 1 K, .280 AVG
Phillies
- Odubel Herrera: 2-3, 1 BB, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .302 AVG
- Andres Blanco: 2-3, 1 3B, 1 R, .310 AVG
- Cesar Hernandez: 2-4, 1 2B, 2 R, .273 AVG
What's Next:
- Wednesday, September 9, 2015: vs. Atlanta Braves, 7:05 pm
- RHP Julio Teheran (9-7, 4.51 ERA) vs. David Buchanan (2-7, 9.00 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, WTTM 1680 (Sp.)
Rebecca Serad (@rserad26) is a contributor of Philliedelphia.com.
