ATLANTA – The Phillies have 11 games to play, which means Michael Lorenzen has 11 games to fix himself.

He said he feels that urgency.

“I don’t like not being good,” Lorenzen said after Tuesday night’s 9-3 loss to the Braves at Truist Park, which cut the Phillies’ lead to 2 1/2 games over Arizona for the No. 1 National League Wild Card. “It’s not something I do well with.”

The Phillies had a plan Tuesday night. Cristopher Sánchez would pitch two times through the Braves’ lineup after throwing a career-high 7 1/3 innings last week against Atlanta. Lorenzen would follow. The Phillies designed a piggyback start with the idea that Sánchez will remain in the rotation, while Lorenzen will move to the bullpen.

• Games remaining (11): at ATL (1), vs. NYM (4), vs. PIT (3), at NYM (3)
• Standings update: The Phillies (82-69) have a 2 1/2-game lead over the D-backs (80-72) for the top NL Wild Card spot.
• Magic number: 8

Sánchez allowed three runs in four innings, keeping the Phillies within striking distance. But Lorenzen allowed four runs in one-third of an inning in the fifth. He did not retire a batter until he threw his 37th and final pitch. No Phillies pitcher has failed to record an out until his 37th pitch or later in an appearance since at least 1988, when pitch counts began to be tracked.

It turned a 3-0 deficit into a 7-0 deficit.

“Sometimes this game's really easy for you, and sometimes it's just really hard,” Lorenzen said. “Every single guy in here has been through it, where you think, ‘Oh, I could do this for the rest of my life, no biggie.’ And then it flips, just like that. You've got to maintain that confidence, but you're like, ‘There's nothing I can do right out here.’ You've just got to keep going.”

Lorenzen has a 9.23 ERA in six appearances since he threw his no-hitter against the Nationals on Aug. 9. In 26 1/3 innings, he has allowed 40 hits, 30 runs (27 earned) and 14 walks, and he has struck out 14.

Lorenzen said he has been through worse stretches than this in his career. He is correct: He posted a 12.00 ERA over a six-start stretch as a rookie with the Reds from July 20 through Aug. 31, 2015.

“You play long enough, you have some tough times,” he said. “I’ve had some tough times, but you’ve just got to keep moving forward. And like I said, sometimes stuff goes your way, and sometimes it doesn’t. When it doesn’t, you hope that it doesn’t all come crashing on you, that it comes in bits and pieces. But you just keep moving forward.”

The 2015 Reds lost 98 games. Nothing mattered by the end of that season. But these Phillies are looking to win the World Series. They need Lorenzen to pitch well.

When the Phillies acquired Lorenzen in an Aug. 1 trade with Detroit, they said they liked him because he could start or relieve. Lately, they might have pictured Lorenzen potentially filling a role similar to Zach Eflin last year. Eflin transitioned from the rotation to the bullpen and pitched several high-leverage innings in September and the postseason.

The Phillies still believe Lorenzen can be that guy.

“He’s a veteran,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “And I think getting him used to coming out of the bullpen might take an outing or two. But I think it’s in there.” 

Sánchez will make his next start Sunday against the Mets. Will Lorenzen follow? Or is the piggyback dead?

“We’ll see,” Thomson said. “We haven’t really discussed it, but Michael is open to anything. He’s a great team guy. I’ve got to talk to [pitching coach Caleb Cotham] and figure it out.”

Lorenzen started the fifth with back-to-back singles to Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies to put runners at the corners. Austin Riley walked to load the bases. Matt Olson walked to score a run. Marcell Ozuna doubled to left field to score two runs. Travis d’Arnaud walked. Orlando Arcia’s sacrifice fly to left scored the fourth run.

And then Lorenzen’s night was over.

“The way the roster is constructed, the starters need to pitch,” Lorenzen said. “Going back to a five-man [rotation], I have bullpen experience. So it's just the way it is. We're in win-now baseball, so you have to do whatever it takes. I have to adjust better and hope to adjust better. But I just haven't been doing that.”