By Theo DeRosa, Sports Talk Philly staff 
Final: Braves 7, Phillies 3
ATLANTA — Ryan Flaherty apparently has some more unaired grievances against the Phillies for releasing him at the end of spring training.
The third baseman, now starting for the Atlanta Braves, produced a win over the Phillies on Wednesday with a three-run home run off Vince Velasquez in the bottom of the fifth. The Braves added plenty of insurance late in the game.
Again, the Phillies dropped the first and third games of a series in Atlanta. Their record of 10-7 mirrors the Braves' mark.
WP: Brandon McCarthy (3-0, 2.91 ERA) ❖ LP: Vince Velasquez (1-2, 3.80 ERA)
Hub: Game Summary ❖ Starting Pitchers ❖ At the Plate ❖ Bullpen ❖ What's Next
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| PHI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| ATL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | X | 7 | 11 | 1 |
Ender Inciarte timed a leap to the wall in left-center perfectly to rob Scott Kingery of what would have been a home run against Braves starter Brandon McCarthy in the first inning.
McCarthy settled in until the fifth, when his mound counterpart produced the game's first offense. Velasquez, already pitching a shutout, drove in Andrew Knapp with a single up the middle. Had Knapp not moved up on a wild pitch, the run wouldn't have scored.
After Velasquez knocked in a run, he gave back three. Preston Tucker walked, Dansby Swanson singled and Flaherty brought both home with a no-doubter to right field.
Carlos Santana, out of the starting lineup Wednesday, continued his hard-luck start to the season. He bounced into a double play in the top of the seventh that did bring home a run but effectively killed a two-on no-out rally.
Swanson added insurance with a solo homer off Edubray Ramos in the bottom of the seventh. Hoby Milner hit (and injured) Freddie Freeman in the eighth, then allowed three straight hits and balked to make the score 6-2. Flaherty singled in another run.
Aaron Altherr chipped in a pinch-hit RBI double to score Rhys Hoskins in the ninth inning, but it was too little, too late.
On Thursday, Jake Arrieta will face the Pirates' Jameson Taillon (2-0, 0.89 ERA) when the Phillies return to Citizens Bank Park.
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vince Velasquez | 6.0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 3.80 |
| Brandon McCarthy | 5.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2.91 |
Phillies
- Andrew Knapp: 2-3, R, .241 AVG
- Aaron Altherr: 1-1, 2B, RBI, .100 AVG
- Rhys Hoskins: 1-3, BB, .327 AVG
Braves
- Ryan Flaherty: 2-4, R, HR, 4 RBI, .365 AVG
- Dansby Swanson: 2-3, R, HR, RBI, .358 AVG
- Nick Markakis: 2-4, R, .279 AVG
Bullpen
Phillies
- Edubray Ramos (7th): 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR, 1.04 ERA
- Hoby Milner (8th): 0.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 7.71 ERA
Braves
- Shane Carle (6th): 1.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 0 HR, 1.38 ERA
- Dan Winkler (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 1.93 ERA
- A.J. Minter (9th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 0.96 ERA
What's Next
- Thursday, April 19, 2018: vs. Pittsburgh Pirates, 7:05 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park
- RHP Jameson Taillon (2-0, 0.89 ERA) vs. RHP Jake Arrieta (1-0, 3.38 ERA)
- TV: NBCSP+, MLBN; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
