The Philadelphia Phillies lost to the Atlanta Braves Friday night by a final score of 5-0. Neither team could muster much sustained offense for much of the game, and things remained scoreless until Antonio Bastardo fell apart in the eighth and the Braves cracked the game open. Ryan Howard made his return from injury in the game, and he went 2-for-4 on the night.
Kyle Kendrick pitched seven strong innings for the Phillies, exiting the game after throwing 89 pitches, giving up four hits, one walk, and striking out five. Bastardo came on in relief, and that's where the wheels came off. He gave up a leadoff single to a pinch hitting Matt Diaz, walked the next batter, collected two outs on fly balls, then walked the bases full, walked in a run, and gave up a grand slam to Brian McCann. That was the end of his night, and Michael Schwimer came in to end the inning with the Braves leading 5-0. That's where things ended, as Philadelphia's offense was unable to answer in either the eighth or the ninth.
Howard's return to baseball and night at the plate were one of the few bright spots in the game for Philadelphia. He picked up a double to deep center in the second inning and a single to center in the seventh.
Atlanta now leads 1-0 in the three game series. Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday at 7:15 p.m. ET.
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