Jerad Eickhoff reverted back to the game plan that got him in trouble his last start in Atlanta, but he faced no such problems Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.
Sticking to his fastball-curve combo, Eickhoff went seven shutout innings in a Phillies’ 5-0 win to avoid a series sweep for the first time since Philadelphia lost four straight to open the season. Though the Braves claimed their second series win of the season, this shutout loss denied their bid to split a 10-game trip that also included stops in Kansas City and Pittsburgh.
Where Eickhoff was efficient, Braves starter Casey Kelly was the opposite. Called up from Triple-A to make a spot start, he hit two Phillies and threw another wild pitch to the backstop. He left after five innings having allowed three Philadelphia runs.
Two Friday night doubles had amounted to all the extra-base hits the Phillies had this series entering Sunday’s finale. But Odubel Herrera set the tone against Kelly, doubling on a liner to left-center to lead off the game. Cameron Rupp followed the next inning with a solo shot, and the Phils added a pair of three-baggers. They tripled twice in a game for the first time this season and recorded more than three extra-base hits for the eighth time in 44 games. Philadelphia hadn’t scored five runs since May 12, and Sunday marked only the ninth time this season it’s scored five or more in a game.
When the Braves promoted Kelly to make this start in place of Aaron Blair, who was optioned to Gwinnett on Wednesday, they were encouraged by groundball rate he had recently produced. But the Phillies lifted flyballs for each of the first five balls put in play and encountered little trouble against the right-hander, who hit two batters in the fourth inning and uncorked a wild pitch before exiting at the end of the fifth. Kelly’s next turn would come on Saturday, which is also the first day Blair would be eligible to return to the Majors.
Though the Braves recorded their first series win in more than a month, their bid to notch their second three-game sweep of the season ended as their offense could not compensate for the damage incurred by Kelly. Atlanta recorded a season-high three home runs during Friday night’s series opener but was limited to two runs over the final 18 innings of this three-game set.
Atlanta will enjoy an off-day on Monday and then begin a three-game series against the Brewers on Tuesday at 6:10 p.m. CT. Julio Teheran, who has posted a 1.15 ERA over his past six starts, will take the mound for the series opener against the Brewers. Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast of that contest on the Braves Radio Network
