PHILADELPHIA -- Freddie Freeman just may be as locked in as he's ever been at the plate.

Freeman reached base three more times on Friday night, though as has been the case all too often for the Braves this season, it wasn't enough. Instead, defensive miscues and a lack of timely hits overshadowed Freeman's latest effort in a 5-1 loss to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

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The loss dropped Atlanta (47-49) into third place in the NL East and ensured that the club will not leave Philadelphia (48-48) with a winning record -- something they have not had for a single day in 2021. It also put the Braves five games behind the division-leading Mets (51-43), who shut out the Blue Jays in New York.

Freeman has reached base in seven of his nine plate appearances in the first two games of this series, continuing one of the most torrid stretches of his esteemed career. The only out he made on Friday came when third baseman Alec Bohm leaped to rob Freeman of what would have been his third hit of the night on a liner to the left side.

Freeman is hitting .435 (40-for-92) over his last 25 games, marking his best average over any 25-game span within a single season in his 12-year career.

Put simply, it's hard to retire a batter who simply does not swing and miss. Freeman is on one of the more remarkable streaks in baseball right now, having gone 33 consecutive plate appearances without a single whiff. That's a stretch that includes 133 pitches and 44 swings.

“That just speaks to the special player that he is,” manager Brian Snitker said. “And the elite player he is, too.”

The Phillies, however, essentially took the bat out of Freeman’s hands in one of the game's most crucial spots. Freeman stepped to the plate in the top of the fifth with the Braves trailing by two with runners on the corners and two outs -- and didn't see a single strike. Zack Wheeler walked Freeman on four pitches to load the bases for Austin Riley, who grounded out to shortstop to end the threat.

“Just couldn't get a big hit. He's tough, man,” Snitker said of Philadelphia’s All-Star starter. “You've got to hope you throw up some zeros facing him, really, and kind of just grind away at-bats. He's good. Man, he's a tough ride.”

Philadelphia wasted no time making Atlanta pay. Bryce Harper started the bottom of the fifth with a leadoff single, then stole second and advanced to third on a groundout. Then, with runners on the corners, Max Fried appeared to have Rhys Hoskins picked off first base, but the Braves mishandled the rundown after Harper made a break for home. Ozzie Albies' throw to the plate arrived far too late, allowing both runners to advance safely on the double steal.

Along with that miscue, Albies missed a tag that allowed Harper to stretch a hit into a double in the third and committed a throwing error in the fourth. Edgar Santana later pitched around a balk in the sixth.

"That's just part of the game,” said Braves starter Max Fried. “That's not in my control. Everyone's going out there trying to make the best plays that they can."

Though he didn’t get a ton of help, Fried wasn’t at his sharpest, either. Coming off his first scoreless outing of the season, the right-hander handed out a season-high four walks and allowed six hits, leading to four runs over five frames.

"At this point in the year, it's about winning games,” Fried said. “And unfortunately, I didn't give us a chance to do that."

It was all too much for Atlanta to overcome on a night when its offense went just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. The last of those came in the top of the ninth, when Albies flied out against Phillies southpaw Ranger Suárez to strand Orlando Arcia at second -- and the red-hot Freeman in the on-deck circle.

"I started looking down the [lineup], because I like Ozzie's chances against any left-hander in the game, and you get Freddie up there, you just never know what might happen,” Snitker said. “He couldn't have won the game, but he could have gotten us within one in that situation. But he's swinging the bat so good, and against everybody, too."