Ranger Suarez, Phillies outlast Braves in pitchers’ duel

Philadelphia’s Ranger Suarez pitched seven strong innings to outduel Atlanta’s Spencer Strider and lead the Phillies to a 2-1 victory over the Braves on Sunday in the rubber game of their three-game series.
The Phillies lead the season series 5-4; the teams meet for the final time in a four-game series in Philadelphia on Aug. 28-31.
Suarez (7-2) allowed one run on four hits with one walk and eight strikeouts to lower his ERA to 2.00. It was the ninth time in 11 starts that Suarez has allowed two or fewer runs. Suarez also recorded his 10th straight quality start.
The bullpen covered the final two innings. Orion Kerkering struck out three batters in the eighth. Matt Strahm allowed runners to reach the corners in the ninth but retired Stuart Fairchild on a fly to center to earn his fifth save.
Strider (3-6) saw his three-start winning streak come to an end. He pitched seven innings and gave up two runs on five hits, with three walks and four strikeouts.
The Braves scored a run in the second inning when Sean Murphy hit a solo home run, his 11th, on a 451-foot blast to straightaway center field. It was the second straight game in which Murphy has gone deep; he hit a grand slam on Saturday.
The Phillies scored both their runs in the fifth inning to take the lead. Bryson Stott singled and scored on Otto Kemp’s double to left. Kemp was sacrificed to third by Brandon Marsh, then scored on Trea Turner’s sacrifice fly to shallow center.
Atlanta’s Matt Olson had a pair of hits and extended his streak of reaching base to 30 games, the longest active stretch in the major leagues and the longest for an Atlanta player since Freddie Freeman reached in 33 straight games in 2020.