It was a massive night for 25-year-old Spencer Schwellenbach. The former Nebraska hurler, now in his second season with the Braves, picked up a much-needed win for Atlanta. The Braves snapped their three-game losing streak with a 6-1 victory over the first-place Philadelphia Phillies. The win moved Atlanta to 38-44, while the Phillies dropped to 48–35 on the season.
Schwellenbach struck out 12 batters in the game, a career high for the Braves right-hander. It also marked the fourth time this season he has recorded double-digit strikeouts. The last time came on May 31 against Boston, when he struck out 11. That was his second consecutive 11-strikeout outing, with the first coming on May 25 against San Diego. He also fanned 10 batters on April 4 against Miami.
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Schwellenbach finished the night with seven strong innings, allowing just three hits, one walk, and one earned run. He improved to 7-4 on the season, and his ERA dropped to 3.09.
The Phillies' lone run came in the top of the sixth inning when Alec Bohm drove in Brandon Marsh. Nick Castellanos followed by lining out to right to end the threat.
The big blow of the game came in the bottom of the seventh, when Sean Murphy clubbed his 10th home run of the season, a grand slam that broke the game wide open.
These two teams will wrap up their series on Sunday, with Ranger Suárez starting for Philadelphia and Spencer Strider taking the mound for Atlanta.
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