Reserves Lead Braves To 5th Straight Win, Eliminate Phillies

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ATLANTA (AP) — Lane Adams homered and drove in two runs, Anibal Sanchez won for the first time in nine starts and the Atlanta Braves used a lineup of reserves to win their fifth straight game, 2-1 over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.

The loss dropped Philadelphia from postseason contention. Atlanta, the first NL team to qualify for the playoffs, eliminated the Phillies from the NL East race on Saturday. The Braves have the second-best record in the NL at 88-68 and could earn home-field advantage in the NL Division Series during the final week of the season.

The Braves mostly rested their regulars against ace Aaron Nola (16-6). Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis each had one at-bat before walking off the field to standing ovations before the start of the second. Ozzie Albies grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the fifth and Ronald Acuna Jr. flew out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth.

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Adams, filling in for center fielder Ender Inciarte, had an RBI double in the second and hit his second homer in the fifth.

Sanchez (7-6) further secured his role as Atlanta's No. 3 starter for the division series behind Mike Foltynewicz and Kevin Gausman, allowing four hits, one run and one walk in five innings. Sanchez won for the first time since Aug. 3 and has a 3.09 ERA over that span.

Scott Kingery's eighth homer for Philadelphia tied it at 1-all in the third. The Phillies were swept in a four-game series in Atlanta for the first time since 1997.

Nola gave up four hits, two runs and one walk with six strikeouts in six innings. He has surrendered nine homers in five starts this month and is 1-3 with a 4.55 ERA over that span.

Reliever Max Fried allowed three baserunners in the sixth and seventh for Atlanta. Sam Freeman faced the minimum in the eighth.

Shane Carle pitched a shaky ninth to earn his first career save in two chances. He walked two batters and hit Kingery with a pitch before Wilson Ramos grounded out to end it.

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