Braves Spoil Phillies Series Sweep, 3-1 in Series Finale
Aug 31, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first base Bryce Harper (3) reacts after flying out to end the seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
So close to a four-game series sweep for the Phillies.
After being embarrassingly swept by the New York Mets in a three-game series earlier in the week, the Phillies returned home to Citizens Bank Park for a four-game series and their final series of the season against the Atlanta Braves. After dominating in the opener and scrapping by with two come-from-behind wins, the Phillies couldn’t finish the series off with another win, falling to the Braves in the finale 3-1.
The Phillies’ offense was quiet all night long, with the sole run coming on a solo home run off the bat of Brandon Marsh. The offense struggled to get any insurance runs on the board, going 1-for-6 with RISP, and it cost them. Drake Baldwin broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the ninth with a two-run home run to left.
Jesus Luzardo got the start on the mound for the Phillies, coming off his worst start of August, where he allowed four earned runs over four innings of work. Luzardo got to work right away, picking up a three-pitch strikeout to Jurickson Profar for the first out of the game, and got Matt Olson and Ronald Acuna Jr. to ground out to head to the bottom of the first.
On the mound for the Braves was rookie right-hander Hurston Waldrep. Waldrep has been incredible since being called up to the big leagues earlier this month, with the Braves winning all five games he’s started. He kicked off his first start in Philadelphia on a good note, picking up back-to-back strikeouts from Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber and getting Bryce Harper to ground out to end the inning.
Both teams went down in order in the second, and Luzardo did the same to Atlanta in the third. After going without a baserunner in the first two innings, the Phillies finally got movement in the third. Nick Castellanos worked a walk to kick off the inning, and he moved over to second on an infield single from Harrison Bader. With two runners on, Bryson Stott struck out, but Turner picked him up with a single to center to load the bases.
With Schwarber up and the bases juiced, Waldrep picked up a huge strikeout for out number two. Harper was next, and he smoked a ball back up the middle, right at shortstop Nick Allen, who got the force out at second to end the inning tied at zero.
Once again, Luzardo sent the Braves down in order in the fourth, picking up yet another strikeout in the inning. In the bottom half of the inning, the Phillies finally got on the board. After J.T. Realmuto struck out and Alec Bohm grounded out to kick off the inning, Marsh smoked a cutter deep into the right field seats for a solo home run.
In the fifth, Luzardo started the inning with a strikeout to Ozzie Albies, but ran into trouble after allowing a single to right by Michael Harris II and a walk to Eli White. With two runners on, Luzardo picked up a huge strikeout against Nacho Alvarez Jr. for two outs, and battled all the way back after being down 3-0 to Sean Murphy to strike him out to get out of the fifth unscathed.
In the bottom of the inning, Stott led off the inning with a single, but a force out from Turner replaced him on the base paths. Schwarber then struck out for the third time on the night, but Turner managed to steal second on the strikeout. After an intentional walk to Harper, Realmuto with two runners on. However, Waldrep needed only three pitches to send Realmuto down on strikes to end the inning.
Both teams went scoreless in the sixth again, and in the top of the seventh, Luzardo got Acuña and Albies to ground out for two quick outs, but allowed a single to Harris, putting the tying run on base. With his pitch count over 100 pitches, Rob Thomson pulled Luzardo, ending his night at 6.2 innings pitched, striking out seven, allowing no runs, and just two hits.
With a runner on first, David Robertson was tasked with picking up the final out of the innings, but things didn’t start the way he hoped they’d go. Pinch-hitter Jake Fraley came up to bat and smoked a single to right, putting two runners on for Alvarez. Robertson battled with the young third baseman and won the battle, getting him to ground out to shortstop to end the inning.
Still up just one run, Stott and Turner both lined out to kick off the bottom of the eighth. After a pitching change, Schwarber smoked a line drive off the center field wall for a two-out triple. With Schwarber on third, Harper went swinging early and smoked a ball to deep right field that was caught to end the inning.
Orion Kerkering came on to pitch the eighth and struggled to get through the inning. Vidal Brujan led off the inning with an infield single, and Drake Baldwin followed that up with a walk. With two runners on, Profar worked another walk to load the bases, ending Kerkering’s night at just three batters.
Tanner Banks came on to clean up the bases-loaded jam. Olson was up first, and he smacked a groundball to the left side, which was good enough to score a run, tying the game at one all. Acuña was up next, and Banks sent him down on strikes, looking for out number two. Albies was then walked to reload the bases, bringing Harris for the lefty-lefty matchup. Banks grounded a ball back up the middle, scooped up by Turner, who went to second to end the inning.
The Phillies went down in order in the eighth, and in the top of the ninth, Jose Alvarado came on to keep the game tied. Fraley led off the inning with an infield single off the glove of Alvarado and moved over to second after a bunt from Alvarez. Brujan then struck out for out number two, bringing up Baldwin for his second at-bat.
Baldwin then struck a first-pitch fastball deep to left for a two-run home run to make it 3-1 Braves. Alvarado picked up third out of the inning thanks to a Profar strikeout, but the damage had already been done.
Raisel Iglesias came on to close the door in the ninth for Atlanta, and he did just that. Iglesias struck out Castellanos to start the inning, got Bader to fly out, and sent Stott down on three pitches to end the game, with the Braves winning 3-1.
Looking ahead, the Phillies now lead the New York Mets by six games in the National League East, and their magic number to clinch the division is 20. With the calendar turning to September, the active rosters will expand from 26 players to 28. The Phillies are reportedly set to fill those spots with left-handed pitcher Tim Mayza, who they acquired off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier in the day, and former backup catcher and CVO (Chief Vibes Officer) Garrett Stubbs.
On top of that, the Phillies also claimed former Boston Red Sox pitcher Walker Buehler off waivers and have signed him to a minor league deal. The team intends to have Buehler pitch one minor league game and then join the team as a sixth starter for their September 12 game against the Kansas City Royals.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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