Despite heroics from rookie Felix Reyes, Phillies fumble away a win against Braves

Lochlahn March, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Apr 18, 2026

Published in Baseball

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PHILADELPHIA — When Edmundo Sosa lost his grip on the ball, fumbling what should have been an inning-ending force-out at second base, the momentum swing was palpable.

The 1-0 Phillies lead over Atlanta, courtesy of rookie Felix Reyes’ first major league homer in his first major league at-bat, vanished quickly after. The Braves made the extra out in the third inning count, scoring three unearned runs to sink the Phillies, 3-1.

Matt Olson worked a walk from starter Cristopher Sánchez to load the bases, and then consecutive flukey singles — a tweener grounder to Sánchez and a bloop hit to center — that allowed all three runs to score.

Once again, the Phillies’ defense cost them as they have now lost four straight at home.

J.T. Realmuto was removed from the game in the seventh inning with lower back tightness. He was replaced by Rafael Marchán. It was ironic, though, that a loss in large part caused by a defensive miscue opened with one of the Phillies’ best defensive plays of the season on the first pitch.

Brandon Marsh, starting in center field over Justin Crawford because he had past experience facing Atlanta left-hander Chris Sale, leaped at the outfield wall and snatched back a well-hit ball from Ronald Acuña Jr. before it could land among the shrubbery.

The good vibes — which had been hard to come by over the last week — only continued when Reyes stepped in the batter’s box for the first time. The outfielder had been called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley Saturday as a potential solution for the Phillies’ struggles against left-handed pitching, and had been tossed right into the fire for his major league debut with one of the toughest lefties in the sport in Sale.

Reyes was unfazed, taking the first two pitches for balls and then powering a fastball 348 feet to the opposite field, sending the crowd and the dugout into a frenzy. But the homer proved to be the Phillies’ only damage against Sale, who limited them to five hits over seven innings, striking out seven.

On the other hand, Sánchez dealt with traffic, allowing baserunners in all six innings he pitched. He was able to work his way out of each jam except in the third inning, but he got the contact he needed then, too.

While the Phillies only faced a two-run deficit, it may as well have been Mount Everest for a team that only put two runners in scoring position in the entire game, and failed to send anyone a yard ... cash either in.

Bryce Harper, Adolis García and Marchán went down in order in the ninth to end it.