ATLANTA _ It was bound to happen.
Sooner or later, with a half-dozen of their most trusted relievers on the injured list, the Phillies' bullpen was going to implode. It was a matter of time. Given how shorthanded they are and how frequently they've had to lean on what healthy arms they have, the Phillies have defied baseball logic for too long.
The opener of a three-game series against the division leaders was the worst possible time for it, though. But there was Hector Neris making the slow walk back to the dugout after Brian McCann's two-run bloop single into left-center field sent the Atlanta Braves to a 9-8 victory and a sellout crowd at SunTrust Park into a state of delirium.
Bryce Harper, Scott Kingery and Rhys Hoskins homered to give the Phillies a 7-2 lead. And the way Nick Pivetta was going, the lead seemed as safe as could be.
But Pivetta left with a four-run lead after throwing a career-high 116 pitches in 6 2/3 innings, and the bullpen had seven outs to get. Vince Velasquez, Jose Alvarez, Edubray Ramos and Neris combined to get only six.
The Braves have won eight consecutive games and 11 of their last 13.
They extended their division lead to 2 { games over the Phillies, who have dropped three of their last four.
In overtaking the Phillies this month, the Braves have racked up 92 runs in 13 games, their juggernaut offense powered by Ronald Acuna Jr.and Dansby Swanson at the top of the order, Ozzie Albies at the bottom, perennial all-star Freddie Freeman, and even upstart rookie Austin Riley.
Yet it was the Phillies who jumped out early against Fried.
Jay Bruce, Kingery and fill-in third baseman Sean Rodriguez got things going in the second inning with back-to-back-to-back one-out singles.
Harper mauled a 94 mph fastball for a two-run home run in the third inning, only the third time he went deep since May 19.
Kingery has been on a tear all month, but his fourth-inning at-bat against Fried was his most impressive yet. He saw 10 pitches, fouling off four consecutive full-count offerings before launching a fastball out to left field to open a 4-1 lead.
Hoskins seemingly broke it open in the seventh inning, driving a cutter from Winkler into the trees beyond the center-field fence for a two-run homer that stretched the margin to 7-2.
Pivetta was mostly cruising at that point, allowing little more than solo home runs to Josh Donaldson and Freeman. Most impressive, he demonstrated poise after walking Fried, of all people, on 13 pitches and giving up a single to Acuna to open the third inning. Whereas he might have gotten rattled in the past, Pivetta calmly struck out Swanson and got Freeman to fly to center field before Donaldson rolled over a curveball for an inning-ending fielder's choice.
But the Braves cut into the lead on Brian McCann's solo shot against Pivetta, then went to work against a bullpen that was bound to have a night like this.
