Braves vs Phillies summary online: stats, scores and highlights | MLB NLDS Game 4 hightlights
Phillies oust Braves for second consecutive year
Phillies eliminate Braves in gutsy Game 4 win
Once you make it to the post season, the slate is wiped clean. The playoffs are a new thing. Nothing that came before matters. Numbers are irrelevant. Just ask the Atlanta Braves.
Like the Dodgers before them, the Braves came into this NLDS series as the favorite. And just like their Los Angeles counterpart, they learned a valuable lesson the hard way.
Atlanta won 104 games in the regular season, scoring 5.78 runs per game, both the highest in MLB. The Phillies, by contrast, were number eight in that list, just squeaking into the post season via a Wild Card berth.
And the lesson that was meted out was that none of that matters. Like in boxing, you can only fight the man in front of you. When it got down to brass tacks, the Phillies scored runs and the Braves didn't. Forget about what happened over the course of a season, but focus on right now.
Those vaunted Atlanta bats never came to life. Not even a little bit. And the Phillies hit eleven home runs, including six in Game 3 and three tonight. Nick Castellanos has become the first player ever to hit multiple home runs in back-to-back playoff games.
The Braves had their chances, twice leaving the bases loaded and even getting runners on first and third with nobody out in the ninth inning. But credit has to be given to the Phillies bullpen. They were up to the challenge, even when they wavered, walking runners in key moments, they would bend but not break.
Philadelphia now travel to the NLCS to face the Arizona Diamondbacks. Game 1 is Monday at Citizens Bank Park.
Worryingly, there was an elbow clash with Bryce Harper at first. Going into Phoenix, that could be something to keep their eye on, since his bat has been the hottest on the team. Also, worrying is the Phillies starting pitchers. While their bullpen has been outstanding, as these playoffs wear on, they will need to have someone go deep into a game for them, otherwise they risk fatigue creeping in.
But one thing is certain: in this NLCS between two Wild Card teams who eliminated between them the two best National League teams, there is no preconception. The Diamondbacks and the Phillies are off script now, and playing baseball like jazz. Wherever the inspiration takes them.
GOODBYE!
That is going to do it for our live coverage of Game 4 between the Braves and the Phillies. We hope that you enjoyed it as much as we did!
Keep abreast of all MLB and sports news with Diario AS USA and stick with us as we bring you the full playoff season live.
We will return on Sunday for Game 1 of the ALCS between the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros.
Until then, good night and God bless!
Numbers don't matter
The Braves had the best record and top-producing offense in MLB this season.
Phillies win!
Grissom is the final chance for the Braves. He can't hold up on the check swing and is called out!
Pinch Hitter
Vaughn Grissom will hit now for Nicky Lopez.
Rosario jumps on the first pitch and lifts it to shallow left. Brandon Marsh pulls it down and it is not deep enough for Ozuna to run. Two down
Pinch Hitter
Eddie Rosario will hit for Forrest Wall.
Kevin Pillar will face the new pitcher and the Braves are threatening here in the ninth. He pops a little nubber of a fly to Trea Turner at short. One out.
Pitching change
That is going to do it for Soto as Rob Thomson will bring on Matt Strahm.
Sean Murphy now comes up representing the tying run. He chops a high bouncer through the gap at first! Ozuna goes to third and the throw from Castellanos is not in time!
The Braves have runners on the corners with nobody out.
Ozuna works the count full before the payoff from Soto misses high for a leadoff walk.
Top 9th
Marcell Ozuna will lead off for the Braves as Soto tries to slam the door shut here in the ninth. The Braves are down to their last three outs.
Johan Rojas will face the new pitcher and he has to fight hard, falling behind 0-2 and fouling two off before getting a ball. A fastball high blows past him for strike three.
Pitching change
That will be it for Pierce Johnson as Raisel Iglesias is called upon to take over.
Brandon Marsh up now and he gets fooled on three straight curve balls. Two down.
Nick Castellanos the hitter now and he is 2 for 2 with a walk and two home runs. He jumps on the second pitch and rips it past third base and into left field for a single. He is a hitting machine tonight!
Bottom 8th
JT Realmuto leads off and lifts a routine fly out to right field for Ronald Acuña Jr. One down
In the replay you can see that it was clearly an accident where Olson's leg clashed with Harper's arm, but it is a bizarre lapse of concentration on Harper's part to leave that arm dangling over the bag. I can only think that Soto's presence confused him.
Matt Olson will hit now, facing the new pitcher. He gets a sinker and bounces it to second. Bryson Stott makes the throw to first for the out.
Something strange happens. Bryce Harper's surgically repaired elbow is hit in a clash with Olson at the bag.
It was weird. Soto ran over to cover the bag and was standing right next to Harper when he made the catch. Did that distraction have anything to do with it?
Pitching change
Craig Kimbrel will get a standing ovation as he exits but that is his work done. Gregory Soto will now come out and take over.
Austin Riley the hitter now and Kimbrel goes straight at him with fastballs, getting Riley swinging for strike three. Two down.
Top 8th
Ozzie Albies will lead off for the Braves in the eighth and he runs the count full before Kimbrel's payoff is lifted out to center field for Rojas. One down.
Bryson Stott up now and runners on first and second with two outs. Johnson finds his control of that curve and gets Stott swinging to end the inning.
Bohm draws the walk on four straight pitches.
Alec Bohm to face the new pitcher with a runner on first and two outs. A big curve gets away from Johnson and Turner goes to second base.
Pitching change
That is going to be Minter's last batter as Pierce Johnson will head out to the mound.
Bryce Harper jumps on the first pitch and he hits it a mile! Unfortunately it is more up than long and Ronald Acuña Jr is able to get under it just at the wall. Two down.
Turner works the count to full before Minter's payoff is hit to short. Lopez is able to stop it but with no chance for a play. That is an infield single for Trea Turner.
Trea Turner to hit now and he only lacks a triple for the cycle tonight. He is 3 for 3 tonight with a home run, a double and single so far.
Bottom 7th
The Braves will send Nicky Lopez to shortstop and Forrest Wall will take over in center field. Kyle Schwarber will lead off for the Phillies and he hits a little broken bat pop up to second for Ozzie Albies. One down.
Acuña gets behind in the count 1-2 before laying off a ball and fouling off another. The 2-2 delivery is racked out to left center field. It is hit well, Rojas is on the run and jumps for it at the wall and he makes the catch! That was huge!
The Braves leave the bases full and the Phillies still lead 3-1!
Kimbrel's first delivery gets past the catcher and goes to the backstop! Pillar stops and goes back to third! Oh, no! He could have scored there but hesitated.
Ronald Acuña Jr is up now in perhaps the biggest at-bat of the season. Bases loaded, two outs in a must-win game.
Pinch runner
Nicky Lopez will be brought on to run for Travis d'Arnaud.
D'Arnaud will face the new pitcher with two on and two outs. The count runs full and the payoff pitch misses low. Three consecutive walks to load the bases!
Pinch hitter
Brian Snitker will make a corresponding change, bringing on Travis d'Arnaud to hit for Michael Harris. At the same time, he will bring on Forrest Wall as a pinch runner for Orlando Arcia.
Pitching change
Rob Thomson will go to his bullpen and call on Craig Kimbrel, the former Brave, to replace Jose Alvarado.
Orlando Arcia up now and the count once again runs full. The payoff from Alvarado misses once again and Arcia walks.
Kevin Pillar the hitter and the count runs full. The payoff from Alvarado misses high and Pillar draws the two out walk.
Sean Murphy up now and he pokes a sharp one to second. Bryson Stott fields it, makes the throw to first. Two gone.
Top 7th
Marcell Ozuna leads off and goes after the first pitch, popping it straight up on the right side. Bryce Harper makes the catch for the first out.
Johan Rojas the hitter now and he pops one to the mound. Matt Olson comes over from first and takes it to end the inning. But the Phillies have stretched that lead to 3-1.
Brandon Marsh will face the new pitcher and he rolls one to second. Albies can't quite get to it and Marsh has a two out single.
Pitching change
Spencer Strider is done as Brian Snitker calls for A. J. Minter to take over on the mound.
NICK CASTELLANOS HOME RUN!
Nick Castellanos the hitter now and he crushes another one way into the upper deck! That is his second home run! That went a mile! Nick Castellanos has stretched that Phillies lead to 3-1!
JT Realmuto up now and he lifts one out to right field for Ronald Acuña. Two away.
Bottom 6th
Bryson Stott will lead things off for the Phillies in the sixth and fouls off five, running the count to 2-2 before swinging through a beautiful change up. One away.
Matt Olson will face the new pitcher and he sends a high fly ball out to center but Rojas is able to get under it and put it away to end the inning.
Pitching change
Rob Thomson strides out to the mound and signals for Jose Alvarado to take over.
Austin Riley now and he goes after the first pitch, ripping a single to center, and that may be it for Seranthony Dominguez.
Ozzie Albies up now and lifts a high fly ball to left for Brandon Marsh. Two down.
Top 6th
Ronald Acuna Jr. leads off to face the new pitcher and jumps on the first pitch, grounding one sharply to second. Bryson Stott goes to first, one pitch, one out.
Pitching change
The Phillies are going to call it a day for Ranger Suárez and bring on Seranthony Dominguez
Double play
Alec Bohm up now and he bounces one to third. Austin Riley goes to second for one, then on to first to turn the double play and end the inning. But the Phillies jump out to a 2-1 lead.
Bryce Harper the batter now and the count runs full before the payoff misses badly to issue the walk.
TREA TURNER HOME RUN!
Trea Turner the hitter now and he absolutely crushes the first pitch he sees! That is long gone and no mistake! A huge solo shot for Trea Turner and the Phillies lead the game!
That was a slider that hung a bit and boy did Trea Turner make him pay for that mistake!
Bottom 5th
Kyle Schwarber will lead things off for the Phillies in the fifth. Strider seems to have found his slider and he hits the zone with three of them. One down.
Michael Harris up now and jumps on the first pitch, a slow bouncer to second. The throw to first is in time to end the inning.
Orlando Arcia up now and he runs the count full. The payoff pitch is lined out to center, Rojas charges it and makes the catch. He throws to first and Murphy just gets back. Two down.
Kevin Pillar up now and there is a little movement in the Phillies bullpen. Pillar fouls three off with the final one a foul tip into the catcher's mitt. One out.
Top 5th
Sean Murphy to lead off for the Braves and he rips a single back up the middle.
Johan Rojas up now and he goes down swinging on three straight 100 mph fastballs to end the inning. But not before the Phillies level things again on a huge Nick Castellanos blast. After four, it is Atlanta 1, Philadelphia 1.
Brandon Marsh the hitter and he lifts a pop fly to left for Kevin Pillar. Two down.
NICK CASTELLANOS HOME RUN!
Nick Castellanos up now and he jumps on the first pitch. Oh my word! That was hit a ton! To left field in the upper deck, just inside the pole! Fair ball! What a comeback home run! That was a statement!
Bottom 4th
JT Realmuto to lead off and he gets twisted up on a high fastball for out number one.
Double play
Marcell Ozuna up now and he chops one to short. Trea Turner goes to second for one, and on to first to end the inning. The Phillies bounce back, but the Braves are on the board, leading 1-0.
Matt Olson jumps on the first pitch and rips a single to left.
AUSTIN RILEY HOME RUN!
Austin Riley the hitter now and he lines a huge shot to left! It hits just over the fence for a solo home run! The Braves strike first!
Top 4th
Ozzie Albies will lead off for the Braves in the fourth and he pops a little blooper to second for Bryson Stott. One down.
Bryson Stott up now and he runs the count full. Two payoff pitches are fouled off before Strider blows a fastball past him to end the inning. Two more runners stranded, five in total for the Phillies. We are still scoreless.
Alec Bohm the hitter now with runners on the corners and one out. He flares one behind second. Ozzie Albies grabs it for the second out. The runners stay put. That was huge for Atlanta!
Bryce Harper up now and he works the count to 2-2. Strider is so preoccupied with the thought of Turner running right now!
The 2-2 delivery is ripped through the gap to right! Turner makes it to third, beating Acuña's throw. He is so fast!
Trea Turner to hit now and he also jumps on the first pitch, ripping one through the gap at short and into left field for a single.
Bottom 3rd
Top of the order now and Kyle Schwarber to lead things off. He jumps on the first pitch, lifting it to center field but directly at Michael Harris. One pitch, one out.
Ronald Acuña Jr now up and the Braves have a runner in scoring position with two outs. He falls behind in the count 1-2 before fighting back to run it full. The payoff from Suárez is grounded straight back to him. The easy throw to first ends the inning.
In the middle of three, we are still scoreless.
Michael Harris up now and he rolls one to short. Turner is off balance and the throw goes wild, going out of play. Harris goes to second on the error.
Orlando Arcia the hitter now and he rolls one to short for Trea Turner. The throw to first gets the second out.
Top 3rd
Kevin Pillar leads off in the third and he jumps on the first pitch, lining one out to left. It is deep, back to the wall, and Brandon Marsh gets back and grabs it. One down.
Double play
Johan Rojas the hitter now with one down and runners on first and second. He bangs one on the screws to center field. Michael Harris charges it and makes the diving catch! Right off the ground! He goes to second to double up Castellanos who had taken off for third and end the inning.
What a catch!
Brandon Marsh up now and he lines one straight back up the middle for a single. Castellanos stops at second.
Nick Castellanos the hitter and he works the count to 3-2 before the payoff pitch misses inside for a walk.
Bottom 2nd
JT Realmuto will lead off for the Phillies and he hacks a high fly ball to right. Acuña gets under it and puts it away. One down.
ꓘ
Sean Murphy up now and he fouls off three in a row, breaking his bat in the process. The next delivery is called a strike to end the inning. Ooooh I don't know about that one. That looked at least a ball's width off the plate.
Marcell Ozuna the hitter now and he chops a slow roller to short for Turner. The play to first and there are two away.
Top 2nd
Matt Olson leads things off for the Braves in the second and he lifts a little nubber of a pop fly to second base. Trea Turner drifts over and takes it for the first out.
Bryson Stott up now with two out and two on. He lifts a high changeup to shallow center field. Michael Harris puts it away to end the inning. The Phillies strand two.
Bohm fouls three in a row back to dig an 0-2 hole. The delivery is a nasty slider and Bohm can't hold up on it, called out on a check swing. Two away.
So now Alec Bohm will hit with runners on first and second.
Intentional walk
Strider doesn't give Harper anything close for 3-0 before Brian Snitker signals to the ump that he wants to intentionally walk him.
Bryce Harper the hitter and he is far and away the most dangerous hitter on this Phillies team. One out and Turner, who can really fly is on second.
Double
Trea Turner now up and he rips a one-hopper off the left field wall for a one out double!
Schwarber hacks at three 100mph fastballs to lead off with a K.
Bottom 1st
Spencer Strider will be on the mound for the Braves and he has been sizzling all season. Perhaps even the future Cy Young winner this year.
He will face Kyle Schwarber, who has had exactly the opposite season, to lead off for Philly.
Austin Riley up now and he lifts a fastball to straightaway center field. Johan Rojas is right there and the Braves go down in order.
Ozzie Albies now the hitter and he goes down after a big swooping curve ball, popping it up to second base. Bryson Stott gets under it and there are two away.
Acuña fouls a couple off before holding fire on a couple of low breaking balls to bring the count to 2-2. The delivery is dribbled to short. Turner fields it and goes to first base for out number one.
First pitch
The Phillies are on the field and Ranger Suárez is on the mound. He will face Ronald Acuña Jr to lead off for the Braves and get things started.
The crowd is here and loud. The players are ready, and Suárez delivers a fastball strike.
We are off!
Warmup
We are just about ten minutes away from the first pitch and both teams are done with their warmups and getting prepared to take the field.
LINEUPS
The Home Team
Phillies Batting Order
1. Schwarber (DH) *L
2. Turner (SS) *R
3. Harper (1B) *L
4. Bohm (3B) *R
5. Stott (2B) *L
6. Realmuto (C) *R
7. Castellanos (RF) *R
8. Marsh (LF) *L
9. Rojas (CF) *R
The Visitors
Braves Batting Order
1. Acuña (RF) *R
2. Albies (2B) *S
3. Riley (3B) *R
4. Olson (1B) *L
5. Ozuna (DH) *R
6. Murphy (C) *R
7. Pillar (LF) *R
8. Arcia (SS) *R
9. Harris (CF) *L
STARTING PITCHERS REGULAR SEASON STATS
ATLANTA BRAVES
Spencer Strider (RHP)
20 - 5
3.86 ERA
281 K
186.2 IP
1.09 WHIP
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Ranger Suárez (LHP)
4 - 6
4.18 ERA
119 K
125.0 IP
1.42 WHIP
PITCHING
The Phillies will give the ball to Ranger Suárez, who had a tepid outing in Game 1. It led to an excellent bullpen managed game for the Phillies, but could have been a bit of smoke and mirrors by Rob Thomson, trying to save Suárez for later in the series. Either way, the Braves will be lifted by the idea that they can get on top of Suárez after just one turn through the lineup.
Atlanta will lean on their go-to superstar, Spencer Strider. He is as close to lights-out as you can get, winning 20 games this season and having a stunning 100 strikeouts MORE than innings pitched. If you are not familiar with how unusual that it, then rest assured it is a phenomenal stat. His strikeout-per-nine-innings-pitched rate this season is 13.4, the highest in MLB.
Averaging five and a half innings per outing, Strider is durable to boot. If you have to rely on one pitcher to force a decisive Game 5, the the Braves couldn’t pick anyone better.
WELCOME!!!
Welcome to the Diario AS USA live commentary of Game 4 of the 2023 NLDS matchup between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies as the series moves to Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Moved to a later prime-time slot after the Diamondbacks swept the Dodgers in the other NLDS series, tonight’s Game 4 matchup sees the Phillies one win away from repeating their Wild Card climb to the NLCS of last year.
Philadelphia is capable of explosive offense, showing Atlanta in Game 3 just what they had in the tank, posting ten runs on the Braves.
Their pitching is not always on point, and Ranger Suárez was pulled off the mound in just three innings in Game 1, but their bats have been hot enough to keep them out in front. If they can get their bullpen working, then they could be true championship material.
The Braves have repaired a lot of holes in their game throughout the season, so they are well capable of turning this around.
Ronald Acuña Jr is fully back from his ACL tear and ripped the league to shreds in the regular season. Matt Olson banged out 54 home runs this season with a .284 average. Oddly quiet in the first three games, if either or both of these hitters manage to switch on, then the Braves will be unstoppable. They pack more true power with the bat than any other team, in either league.
The Braves bullpen is the question mark, being particularly banged up. Kyle Wright and Charlie Morton are sorely missed but starter Spencer Strider has been electric. If he can hold the Phillies back for any length of time, then Atlanta has to fancy their chances.
And just to keep things on the safe side, maybe think about pitching around Bryce Harper.