Chris Sale’s strong start carries Braves to DH split with Phils

Chris Sale pitched six scoreless innings as the Atlanta Braves routed the host Philadelphia Phillies 9-3 in the nightcap of a split doubleheader on Thursday.
Austin Riley homered, doubled and drove in four runs for Atlanta, which had lost six of its previous seven games. Ozzie Albies knocked in three runs and Luke Williams added two RBIs.
Sale (3-3) allowed two hits and three walks while striking out eight. His final strikeout — against Edmundo Sosa to end the sixth — was the 2,500th of his career.
Philadelphia won the Thursday day game 5-4 but struggled to generate much offense in the nightcap. The Phillies remained without Bryce Harper after he sustained an elbow contusion when hit by a pitch from Spencer Strider on Tuesday in the series opener.
Phillies starter Zack Wheeler (6-2), who entered with a streak of 22 2/3 scoreless innings, was charged with six runs in 5 1/3 frames. He allowed four hits, issued a season-high four walks and fanned six.
Despite not having his best stuff, Wheeler did not allow a hit until Marcell Ozuna singled with one out in the fourth. Matt Olson followed with a double before Riley’s double plated two runs to open the scoring.
Albies homered on Wheeler’s next pitch, boosting the margin to 4-0.
Philadelphia threatened against Sale in the fifth, loading the bases with two outs. However, Alec Bohm grounded out to end the inning.
Atlanta made some noise of its own in the sixth. The visitors drew back-to-back one-out walks against Wheeler before Carlos Hernandez came on and allowed two hits, including Williams’ two-run single that made it 6-0.
Riley’s two-run blast against Joe Ross created an 8-0 cushion in the seventh.
The Phillies scored twice in the eighth against Michael Petersen, including Sosa’s RBI single, and added a run in the ninth on Trea Turner’s RBI hit against Raisel Iglesias.