ATLANTA — The Phillies played a home run derby against the best team in baseball Monday night, using longballs from five different players and six sharp innings from ace Zack Wheeler to defeat the Braves, 7-1.
Wheeler gave up a home run to the second batter he faced, Ozzie Albies, then went spotless the rest of the way on a fastball that averaged 96 mph and better command. It was a big bounce-back outing after he allowed six runs and three homers to the same Braves on Tuesday at home. Monday’s series opener was the Braves’ quietest offensive game since May 12, the only time this season they were held to one run on three hits or worse.
“You want to kind of, after the last outing, show them, ‘Hey, you still have to face me,'” he said. “The mental aspect, for them and for me, is just back on track. They know I’m the same, you could say.”
Wheeler retired the Braves three times in his six innings. He is 12-6 with a 3.63 ERA through 30 starts. He was scheduled to make two more in the regular season, both against the Mets. The last one could be an abbreviated start if the Phillies have the top wild-card spot up for grabs then.
The Phils (82-68) lead the Diamondbacks by 3½ games for the fourth-seed, with home-field advantage in the wild-card round. They also own the tiebreaker over the Diamondbacks, who have built a 4½-game lead with 12 games remaining. The Phillies’ magic number to get the top wild-card spot is 9.
Rookie center fielder Johan Rojas was the first of the visiting side to go deep. He hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the second inning to provide a lead that would last the rest of the way. The first home run of his big league career wasn’t off a position player, so it was his first “real” one. He was a major difference-maker in the field and a spark plug who held his own at the bottom of the order, hitting .300 with a .344 on-base percentage in 133 plate appearances.
“Moments like this, it not only gives us confidence but it builds the chemistry in the clubhouse,” Rojas said. “Seranthony (Dominguez) used to tease me saying, ‘Finally, finally you hit a homer off a real pitcher.’ It’s the little things like that, it’s really good for the group.
“Overall, I feel good here in the big leagues. I give 100 percent, it’s always about the most effort you’ll see from me. I’m enjoying this moment as much as I can. I feel like, here , we’re all family. We see each other as family. I’ve always wanted to be here and I’ve enjoyed every second of it.”
Bryce Harper, JT Realmuto and Nick Castellanos hit solo homers in the third, fourth and sixth innings. Harper’s was a thing of beauty, a simple swing at a pitch outside the plate that he took the other way.
Three batters after Castellanos homered, Kyle Schwarber hit the hardest of all, homering 483 feet to right field. It was the second longest home run in Truist Park’s seven-year history, behind a 495-footer from Ronald Acuña Jr.
“Heck, I take it if it goes to the first row,” he said. “It was a good offensive day all around us. Home runs are home runs but I felt the at-bats were good.”
Schwarber has 45 home runs, Trea Turner has 26, Castellanos has 25, JT Realmuto has 19, Harper has 18, Alec Bohm has 17 and Bryson Stott has 15. The Braves are the only team since the All-Star break to had more homers than the Phillies.
“We’ve been swinging the bat pretty well against everybody,” said manager Rob Thomson. “The real encouraging thing is that we kept their runs going. Wheeler did a great job. That’s what you have to do.”
The Braves have won six straight division titles and celebrated their most recent title on the Phillies’ home field last week. Despite how dominant the Braves have been, the Phillies are 39-43 against them since 2019, a .476 winning percentage. Over that same span, the rest of the MLB is 249-401 against Atlanta, a .383 winning percentage. If the Phils had the same success rate as the rest of the league, they would have lost more in eight games to the Braves than they have in a five-year period.
The Phillies aren’t afraid of the Braves, the same way the Marlins aren’t afraid of the Phils. They could find themselves back in Atlanta in three weeks as the Braves could be an NLDS opponent if the Phillies advance to the wild-card round.
After losing five of seven games at Citizens Bank Park last week, the Phillies have won three of four to begin a six-game road trip. They look to win the series Tuesday night. Cristopher Sanchez will start piggybacking Michael Lorenzen. Ace Spencer Strider is going to Atlanta.
“Every time we hang out with these guys,” Schwarber said, “we always feel like it’s a dogfight.”