If coughing up two- and seven-run leads and getting swept in a doubleheader Thursday seemed like rock bottom for the Phillies, what the heck happened Friday night in Atlanta?
A rough start for Aaron Nola? Check.
Further proof that the bullpen needs every ounce of help that general manager Matt Klentak acquired during the game? Yessir.
More examples of the defense _ rookie third baseman Alec Bohm's, in particular _ doing no favors for those overmatched relievers? Bingo.
Add it all up, and the Phillies were walloped, 11-2, by the Braves, who didn't even have injured superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. in the lineup for the series opener at Truist Park.
It marked the Phillies' fourth consecutive loss and their seventh defeat in 10 games. They are 9-13, four games behind the division-leading Braves (15-11) and 2 { behind the second-place Miami Marlins (10-9).
Nola entered the game on a three-start roll in which he allowed two runs on eight hits and racked up 30 strikeouts to only three walks in 21 innings. But he didn't make it out of the third inning, the shortest start of his career.
The Braves, fast becoming Nola's nemesis, KO'd him by scoring four runs in the third inning on back-to-back homers by Travis d'Arnaud and Marcell Ozuna and an RBI double from Johan Camargo. Nola had a 4.75 ERA in six starts against the Braves last season, including a 5.19 ERA in three starts in Atlanta.
Trailing 4-1 and without Bryce Harper in the lineup, the Phillies didn't have much chance of coming back. After playing all but three innings of the first 21 games, Harper got a breather from manager Joe Girardi, who said the star right fielder was "dog-tired" after Thursday's doubleheader in Buffalo, N.Y.
The Braves poured it on in the fifth inning, scoring seven runs against relievers Reggie McClain and Cole Irvin. Bohm, who has lived up to his billing by being impressive at the plate and inconsistent in the field since getting called up last week, had a particularly rough fifth inning. He made a fielding error on a ball hit by Austin Riley and a wide throw on a grounder from Dansby Swanson.
While that was happening, the Phillies pulled off a trade with the Boston Red Sox, acquiring relievers Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree for pitchers Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold.
So at least the night wasn't a total washout.
Workman and Hembree _ along with David Hale, who was acquired earlier in the day in a trade with the New York Yankees _ figure to help stabilize a bullpen that entered the night with a collective 8.07 ERA.
One bright spot: Left-hander JoJo Romero, who struck out the side in the eighth inning in his major league debut.
But silver linings have been few and far between for the Phillies, 36.7% of the way through a shortened season and falling fast.
