PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Didi Gregorius hit a grand slam, Bryce Harper blasted a three-run shot and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 13-8 Monday night, giving Aaron Nola his first win in nearly a year.
Nola (1-1) allowed one run, two hits and struck out 10 in eight innings. The ace right-hander was 0-5 in nine starts since his last win at Boston on August 20, 2019. The Phillies had lost Nola’s last nine starts, scoring only 27 runs combined in those games.
Roman Quinn, Jean Segura and J.T. Realmuto added solo shots for Philadelphia, which bounced back after getting swept in Sunday’s doubleheader to earn a split of the four-game series.
The Phillies jumped on Braves lefty Sean Newcomb (0-2) in the first when Harper drove a 3-1 pitch way out to right-center into Atlanta’s bullpen, setting off air horns and cow bells from fans gathered outside the stadium.
The group, which calls itself the “Phandemic Krew,” has grown from a few people to more than 30. Some folks bring ladders to peek into the ballpark and others sit on lawn chairs. They watch the game on a television hanging on a brick wall in Ashburn Alley out in left-center field.
Gregorius made it 10-1 during a seven-run second inning that chased Newcomb. Quinn started the inning with a liner out to left. After Realmuto’s RBI single ended Newcomb’s night, Gregorius launched Robbie Erlin’s first pitch into the right-field bleachers for his sixth career slam.
Newcomb surrendered eight runs and six hits in 1 1/3 innings.
Travis d’Arnaud hit a solo homer off Nola, who threw just 89 pitches but was denied an opportunity for his first career complete game in his 130th start.
Johan Camargo connected off Nick Pivetta, who yielded six runs and recorded just one out in the ninth. Austin Riley hit a two-run shot off Trevor Kelley before the side-winding righty got the final out.
STRIKEOUT MACHINE
Nola has 14 double-digit strikeout games in his career and two in a row for the second time. He fanned 12 in a 3-1 loss to the Yankees last Wednesday.
FRANCHISE FIRST
The Phillies had four homers and scored 10 runs within the first two innings of a game for the first time in club history, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Braves: LHP Cole Hamels (shoulder) still hasn’t thrown off a mound but manager Brian Snitker said there’s still hope he pitches this season.
Phillies: RHP David Robertson and LHP Ranger Suárez are throwing at the team’s complex in Clearwater, Florida. Robertson, a former closer, is returning from Tommy John surgery. Suárez tested positive for COVID-19 before the season.
UP NEXT
Braves: RHP Touki Toussaint (0-0, 6.08 ERA) starts Tuesday night in New York and LHP Jordan Montgomery (1-1, 5.59) goes for the Yankees in the opener of a two-game interleague set.
Phillies: RHP Zack Wheeler (2-0, 2.08) takes the mound against Orioles RHP Alex Cobb (1-1, 2.51) in the start of a three-game interleague series Tuesday.
