Backups keep Braves rolling
Atlanta sweeps Phillies, who will miss the playoffs
ATLANTA — Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker gave most of his everyday players some time off a day after the team clinched the NL East division title.
Lane Adams took advantage of a rare opportunity.
“You see the fun the starters have day in and day out,” Adams said. “When I saw my name in the lineup, I just wanted to go out, have fun, enjoy it and take it in, because this is a special group, a special crowd and a special time for this organization.”
Adams hit a home run and drove in two runs, and pitcher Anibal Sanchez won for the first time in nine starts as the Braves used a lineup of reserves to secure their fifth straight victory, 2-1 over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.
The loss dropped Philadelphia from postseason contention. Atlanta, the first National League team to qualify for the playoffs, already had eliminated the Phillies from the division race Saturday. The Braves have the second-best record among NL division leaders at 88-68 and could earn home-field advantage in the NL Division Series with a strong performance during the
final week of the regular season.
The Braves rested most of their regulars against ace Aaron Nola (16-6). Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis each had one at-bat in Atlanta’s final home game of the regular season before walking off the field to standing ovations before the start of the second inning.
“Everybody deserved it, but
they’re the two guys that have posted up every day,” Snitker said. “They’re on a 162-game pace and kind of our guts. So I thought that was pretty cool they got to get recognized. It was very well-deserved.”
Among the other regulars to make an appearance, Ozzie Albies grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the fifth and
Ronald Acuna Jr. flew out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth.
Adams, filling in for center fielder Ender Inciarte, had an RBI double in the second and hit his second homer of the season in the fifth.
Sanchez (7-6) further secured his role as Atlanta’s No. 3 starter for the division series behind Mike Foltynewicz and Kevin Gausman, allowing four hits, one run and one walk in five innings. Sanchez won for the first time since Aug. 3 and has a 3.09 ERA over that span.
“He’s been huge,” Snitker said. “What a great story that is. As far as being a complete pitcher and executing pitches, it’s pretty good. There’s a lot of knowledge there. He’s been doing it a long time, and he’s been successful.”
Scott Kingery’s eighth homer of the season tied it at 1-all in the third. The Phillies were swept in a four-game series in Atlanta for the first time since 1997.
Nola gave up four hits, two runs and one walk with six strikeouts in six innings. He has surrendered nine homers in five starts this month and is 1-3 with a 4.55 ERA over that span.
He wants to make one final start, giving him 33 for the season, as Philadelphia tries to finish above .500.
“I think just going forward, everybody has confidence in each other,” he said. “To finish the year out strong is important to us.”
Reliever Max Fried allowed three baseunners in the sixth and seventh for Atlanta. Sam Freeman faced the minimum in the eighth.
Shane Carle pitched a shaky ninth to earn his first career save in two chances. He walked two batters and hit Kingery with a pitch before Wilson Ramos grounded out to end it.