The Phillies had a chance to secure a four-game sweep and extend their lead in the National League East to seven games on Sunday night. Facing the Atlanta Braves on ESPN, they got a well-pitched game from starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo, but their offense came up small, and the bullpen couldn’t get the job done. The result was a disappointing 3-1 loss.
Luzardo was dealing from the start of the game, retiring the first 13 batters he faced. However, the Braves’ starter, rookie phenom Hurston Waldrep was matching him zero for zero. Waldrep had the Phillies batters looking uncomfortable all night, striking out nine batters in 5.