Strong weekend has Phils amped up heading into showdown in Milwaukee

PHILADELPHIA -- When the Phillies arrived home Thursday, it felt like a potential turning point in their season.

Even after Sunday night’s 3-1 loss to the Braves, the Phillies headed back on the road feeling like things had turned back in the right direction.

Philadelphia’s seven-game lead in the National League East had dwindled down to four following a sweep at the hands of the rival Mets in New York. Could they rebound against Atlanta? Despite their tough season, the Braves had given the Phillies all they could handle during their first nine meetings this year, setting up a big weekend at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies missed an opportunity to sweep the Braves for the first time in four years, losing a late lead after a brilliant outing from Jesús Luzardo. But the series win against Atlanta has Philly’s NL East lead back up to six games as Philadelphia heads to Milwaukee for three games against the best team in baseball.

"It's huge,” manager Rob Thomson said. “They responded really well -- and they usually do. It's an experienced club; they’ve got short memories and they played really well.”

After blowing up for 19 runs in the series opener, the Phillies took a pair of tight, one-run games on both Friday and Saturday. Sunday proved to be more of the same, as Luzardo and rookie Hurston Waldrep went pitch for pitch, locked in a classic duel into the sixth inning.

Luzardo fired 6 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, striking out seven. Over the past three games, Phillies starters have allowed two runs over 18 2/3 innings.

“That was a big bounce-back for us; much needed,” said Brandon Marsh, whose fourth-inning home run accounted for the Phillies’ lone run Sunday. “The pitchers pitched their butts off, and as a lineup as a whole, I felt like we did a really good job this series.”

Luzardo retired the first 13 batters he faced, not allowing a baserunner until Michael Harris II singled and Eli White walked with one out in the fifth, giving Atlanta its first scoring opportunity. Luzardo struck out Nacho Alvarez Jr. and Sean Murphy to strand the runners, protecting the slim lead.

Orion Kerkering put the Phillies in a bad spot in the eighth, allowing an infield hit and two walks to load the bases with nobody out. Tanner Banks came in and minimized the damage, allowing only one of the runners to score as the Braves tied the game on Matt Olson’s RBI groundout.

Baldwin launched a two-run home run against Alvarado in the ninth to account for the winning runs, as Raisel Iglesias closed out the Phillies in the ninth.

"Atlanta played well, especially the last three games,” Thomson said. “It was a good series and a good series win.”

Just as the Phillies were able to shake off the Mets series with a solid weekend against the Braves, Thomson’s team won’t have much time to think about Sunday’s defeat.

Monday marks the first of three games against the Brewers at American Family Field, giving the Phillies a chance to measure themselves against the team with the best record in the game -- not to mention one that swept the Phillies in their own park exactly three months ago.

"You always want to play ‘the best’ and you want to beat the best,” Marsh said. “They're having a really, really good year. We’ll just focus on the first game tomorrow, try to take care of business in the first game in Milwaukee.”