Phillies Down Nine Straight and the Braves Are Coming to Town Red Hot

The Philadelphia Phillies are in freefall. After dropping nine games in a row following an 8-7 loss to the Chicago Cubs in 10 innings on Thursday, they now sit with the worst record in the National League and are tied with the Kansas City Royals for the worst mark in all of baseball. This is their longest losing streak since September 2018, when they dropped nine straight. The last time Philly had a double-digit skid was way back in September 1999, when they lost 11 in a row. And who's walking into town to potentially make it worse? The Atlanta Braves, who are absolutely rolling.

The Braves Are Playing Like a Completely Different Team

Atlanta just took three of four from the Washington Nationals, finishing with a 7-2 victory on Thursday, and they've won eight of their last nine games. Oh, and they already swept the Phillies in a three-game series in Philadelphia last weekend. The Braves are the surging team nobody wants to see right now, and the Phillies have to face them again starting Friday night to kick off a three-game series.

Center fielder Michael Harris II is playing out of his mind. In his past seven games, he's hitting .565 with 13 hits in 23 at-bats, four homers, and nine RBIs. He went 3-for-4 with two RBIs on Thursday before leaving the game in the eighth inning with left quad tightness, but he's planning to be in the lineup Friday. "That's the plan. I'm going to go home, make sure I do everything right and then come in and see how I'm feeling," Harris said.

The Pitching Matchup and What's At Stake

Friday's opener will be a rematch between right-handers Andrew Painter for the Phillies and Grant Holmes for Atlanta. These two faced off on Sunday, with the Braves winning 4-2. Painter, the Phillies' first-round pick from 2021 who made his major league debut on March 31, is fully recovered from Tommy John surgery in July 2023. He took his first loss against Atlanta, giving up three runs on five hits over four-plus innings with four strikeouts. Holmes is 1-1 with a 3.42 ERA and hasn't allowed more than three runs in any appearance this season.

On the offensive side, Bryce Harper needs just one extra-base hit to become the 27th player to reach 800 before turning 34. The Atlanta pitching staff also made some moves on Thursday, placing Dylan Dodd on the 15-day injured list due to a left thoracic spine infection while promoting Carlos Carrasco and JR Ritchie from Triple-A Gwinnett. Ritchie threw seven strong innings in his major league debut, giving up two runs and five hits for the win.

Rob Thomson's Phillies are desperate for answers, and the manager tried to find optimism despite the brutal stretch. "Did we lose? Yeah. Do you feel bad about that? Yeah," Thomson said. "But they fought and hopefully it carries over into tomorrow." First pitch is Friday night as Philly tries to snap this nightmare and keep their season from completely derailing.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.