ATLANTA _ As the sixth inning unfolded on a hot, sticky Wednesday night, there were signs that Nick Pivetta was nearing the end of the line. Still, the Phillies starter was one pitch away from getting off the field with only a one-run deficit.
If only that pitch hadn't been a hanging slider.
With Juan Nicasio ready and waiting in the bullpen, Pivetta gave up a three-run home run to Atlanta Braves rookie slugger Austin Riley that broke open the game and sent the Phillies to a series-evening 9-2 loss at SunTrust Park.
It was the second homer of the game _ and the ninth in the last four starts _ against Pivetta, and it spoiled a milestone night for Phillies star Bryce Harper, who simultaneously recorded a career milestone hit (his 1,000th) and home run (his 200th) when he took Braves starter Bryse Wilson deep in the top of the sixth.
Harper's homer instead became a footnote, as the Phillies slid back to 5 { games behind the division-leading Braves, who are on pace to win 94 games. The Phillies must go 49-27 the rest of the way to reach 94 wins.
Arm-chair managers will suggest that manager Gabe Kapler stuck with Pivetta too long, and maybe he did. After all, two of the three batters ahead of Riley _ Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis _ recorded exit velocities of 100.6 mph and 103.5 mph, respectively, on a one-out single and a sinking line drive that was caught by diving center fielder Scott Kingery.
Two pitches later, Riley hit Pivetta's slider over the center-field fence with an exit velocity of 101.3 mph to stretch a 3-2 lead to 6-2 and finally bring Kapler out of the dugout.
But when Nicasio entered to face the bottom of the Braves order, he didn't fare any better. He gave up back-to-back doubles by Ozzie Albies and Tyler Flowers and a two-run homer to pinch-hitting Matt Joyce, three hits that registered exit velocities of 99.9 mph, 109.9 mph, and 99.3 mph.
The Phillies manhandled Wilson the last time they faced him, scoring four runs on five hits and four walks and knocking him out after only 3 1/3 innings on March 30 at Citizens Bank Park.
Seems like eons ago, doesn't it?
This is a different Phillies offense now, one that sorely misses injured leadoff man Andrew McCutchen and is too prone to going quiet for too long. And although Wilson is still the same pitcher, he fared much better this time around.
Never mind that Wilson threw mostly fastballs _ 63 of them, to be precise, out of 86 pitches. He kept the Phillies at bay, allowing little more than Harper's milestone home run. Through five innings, in fact, they had only two hits, both of which were singles.
Wilson completed six innings and allowed two runs on five hits to pick up his first major-league win in only his third career start.
The Phillies didn't do much against the Braves bullpen either. They were retired in order in the seventh and eighth innings and were unable to score in the ninth after a leadoff walk by Harper and a two-out single by Jay Bruce.
