Final: Phillies 1, Braves 0
The Philadelphia Phillies have bigger goals than winning 82 games, but for a franchise that didn’t post a winning record in a single season between 2012 and 2020, there is a small victory in clinching your second consecutive winning season.
That’s exactly what the Phillies did Thursday, riding excellent pitching to a series-opening victory over the division-rival Atlanta Braves.
A night after he went 5-5 and delivered a walk-off hit, Matt Vierling got the Phillies on the board in the bottom of the second inning, plating J.T. Realmuto on a sacrifice fly.