PHILADELPHIA _ Nick Pivetta had retired 11 straight batters on Monday night when he walked Johan Camargo on five pitches. Pivetta had already thrown 103 pitches. His night could have ended there with one out in the seventh inning.
It was not a necessity to push Pivetta much further. But the Phillies did. And it worked. Pivetta picked up the next two outs _ with great assistance from Jorge Alfaro _ and the Phillies went on to close out a 3-0 win over the first-place Braves at Citizens Bank Park.
The series opener was a great test for the Phillies, who moved just a half-game behind Atlanta. And it was a nice challenge for Pivetta, who pitched seven shutout innings and continued to display a sense of perseverance in the way he responded to the worst day of his career. He struck out seven, walked one, and allowed just four hits. He retired 12 of his final 13 batters, five of which came via strikeouts.
Pivetta has allowed just one run with 25 strikeouts and two walks in his last 19 innings since he was yanked in the second against after giving up six runs against the Nationals. An embarrassing afternoon in Washington has seemed to propel Pivetta through three strong starts.
Monday was the team's 10th meeting this season and the Braves had won six of the first nine. Gabe Kapler said before the game that his team "prepared like animals." The Phillies would do everything in their power, Kapler said, to win the next three games. Monday was a nice start.
Nick Williams, who started for the third time in four games, hit a solo homer in the fourth. Aaron Altherr, whose playing time has been pinched by Williams, came off the bench for a two-run pinch-hit homer in the seventh. The Phillies could revert to an equal share in right field after Altherr began to take the majority of the playing time.
Seranthony Dominguez handled the eighth and allowed his first major-league hit after six hitless appearances. But the rookie retired Ronald Acuna Jr. and struck out Freddie Freeman. Hector Neris, the embattled closer, returned to the ninth inning and retired the three batters he faced.
Without the extraordinary effort this season from the Phillies' starting rotation, Monday's series opener against the Braves likely would not have carried the meaning that it did. The Phillies would not be inching toward first place without the rise of Pivetta and Vince Velasquez, who starts Tuesday night. And Monday night was a reminder why. Pivetta has displayed an ability to miss bats. He recorded 13 swings and misses on Monday. And he has proved that he can handle adversity.
The bit of adversity Pivetta seemed to face after walking Camargo would not last. Alfaro caught him stealing to pick up the inning's second out. Pivetta needed just one more out to finish his night on his own terms. Dansby Swanson chopped a grounder in front of the plate, Alfaro charged to grab it and spun as he threw to first base to nab Swanson. It was a phenomenal play and the kind a team needs when it's clinging to a one-run lead against a first-place club. And it was the kind of play Pivetta deserved.
