Bryson Stott poked a two-run double down the left-field line with two outs in the 10th inning, lifting the visiting Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-5 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday afternoon.
Stott’s first hit of the series came against losing pitcher A.J. Minter (3-6), who gave up two runs (one earned) with four walks in one inning.
The winning pitcher was Craig Kimbrel (8-6), who pitched a scoreless ninth inning. Matt Strahm allowed one unearned run in the bottom of the 10th but picked up his second save.
The Phillies (83-69) stretched their lead for the first wild-card playoff spot to three games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Braves (97-55) have lost five of their last six games since clinching a sixth straight National League East title.
Nick Castellanos paced the Phillies with a two-run homer and a solo shot. The right fielder also threw out the potential game-winning runner at the plate in the ninth to force extra innings.
Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola pitched six innings and gave up two runs on six hits and eight strikeouts. Nola left the game with a two-run lead.
Atlanta’s Bryce Elder lasted only 3 2/3 innings and allowed four runs on three hits and five walks.
Philadelphia scored a run in the first inning on Alec Bohm’s RBI single and stretched its advantage to 4-0 after Castellanos hit a solo homer in the second and a two-run shot in the fourth. It’s the 13th time in his career that Castellanos has hit multiple home runs in a game and the fourth time this season.
The Braves got a run in the fourth inning on Matt Olson’s single and league-leading 131st RBI. They cut the lead to 4-2 on a double by Michael Harris II and a run-scoring single by Nicky Lopez in the fifth.
Atlanta tied the game 4-4 in the eighth on Austin Riley’s RBI single and Marcell Ozuna’s two-out double off the right-field wall.
The Braves had a chance to win it in the ninth, but pinch-runner Luke Williams was thrown out at the plate by Castellanos.
–Field Level Media
