The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Atlanta Braves on Friday night by a score of 6-4. Phillies' starter Taijuan Walker showed up when he needed to as he tossed 6 2/3 innings and earned a quality start— allowing just three earned runs. Walker did allow his share of baserunners as he allowed ten hits and a walk.
The Phillies' offense was able to make up for the number of Braves' baserunners as Nick Castellanos, Bryce Harper, Brandon Marsh, and Trea Turner all knocked in runs. Bryson Stott also stole three bases. The bullpen was able to hold on to the lead as Mat Strahm pitched 1 1/3 innings allowing one earned run and Craig Kimbrel logged the save— his sixth of the season.
Zack Wheeler (3-4, 4.11 ERA) will take the hill for the Phillies on Saturday as they look to take the series lead. Wheeler will be opposed by Braves' starter and former Phillie Charlie Morton (5-4, 3.61 ERA).
Phillies News
Phillies' reliever Craig Kimbrel picked up his 400th career save on Friday night. Kimbrel becomes just the eighth pitcher in history to reach this milestone in their career. He joins the likes of Mariano Rivera, Trevor Hoffman, Lee Smith, Francisco Rodriguez, John Franco, Billy Wagner, and Kenley Jansen as the only pitchers to reach this accomplishment. It took Kimbrel 730 games to reach the 400-save club, and only Rivera and Hoffman reached the milestone faster. Kimbrel ironically picked up the historical save against the team he began his career with.
Save No. 400 in the books pic.twitter.com/EFWNhaBGw1
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 27, 2023
Phillies' No. 2 prospect Mick Abel started for Double-A Reading on Friday. Abel finished the game with 4 2/3 innings pitched, six hits, six earned runs, four walks, and nine strikeouts. Abel pitched better than his line suggests, however. The young right-hander had nine strikeouts through four innings— striking out at least two batters in each of those innings. The problems came in the fifth inning as he walked four hitters and surrendered five runs. Control has been Abel's Achilles heel to this point in his career. The stuff is there, the 21-year-old just needs to fine tune his command before he can make the leap to the big leagues.
MLB News
There was a scary scene in Milwaukee on Friday evening as Brewers' shortstop Willy Adames was hit in the head with a foul ball as he leaned on the top rail of the dugout. Adames was taken to the hospital as a precaution and is expected to go on the injured list. The good news is that Adames was responsive when he arrived at the hospital and did not suffer any fractures.
New York Yankees' manager Aaron Boone has been suspended for one game and fined an undisclosed amount for his conduct toward umpires. Boone was ejected from a game for the fourth time on Thursday night as he argued balls and strikes. Boone leads the league in ejections to this point in the season— an accolade he would likely wish to bestow on another manager.