Rookie Spencer Schwellenbach retires 19 hitters in a row, Braves beat Phillies 3-2

ATLANTA (AP) — Rookie Spencer Schwellenbach retired 19 hitters in a row and the Atlanta Braves took two of three in their series with NL East-leading Philadelphia, beating the Phillies 3-2 Thursday night.

After Schwellenbach (5-6) surrendered a one-out single to Bryce Harper in the first, he didn't allow another batter to reach safely until Bryson Stott's infield hit off the pitcher's glove with two outs in the seventh.

“I really wanted that last one,” Schwellenbach said through clenched teeth. “I've gotta squeeze the glove and come up the ball.”

J.T. Realmuto followed with a run-scoring double to the gap in right-center, cutting into Atlanta's 3-1 lead and ending Schwellenbach’s night. Pierce Johnson struck out Brandon Marsh to end the threat and worked around two walks in the eighth, retiring Trea Turner on an inning-ending double play.

Raisel Iglesias struck out the side in the ninth for his 28th save in 30 chances, extending his scoreless streak to 15 innings.

Adam Duvall homered for the Braves, whose streak of six straight division titles is in serious jeopardy. They still trail the Phillies by six games, with the rivals set to collide again in a week for a four-game set at Philadelphia.

“Now, all the games are big,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker, whose team holds the final NL wild-card spot. "None are any more important than the others because it’s just about winning games.”

Schwellenbach, a surprise contributor to a rotation that lost ace Spencer Strider to a season-ending injury, struck out nine — all of them swinging — over 6 2/3 innings.

“That was kind of my mindset right when they called me up,” he said. “We need a guy and I’m gonna be that guy.”

Snitker praised the 24-year-old's poise, confidence and wide array of pitches.

“He throws strikes and he’s got secondary pitches,” the manager said. “His velocity stays the same the whole game, I think because he uses all of his pitches.”

Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez (9-9) surrendered nine hits and three runs in a six-inning stint that could've been worse. The Braves stranded six runners over the first four innings.

Duvall hit his 11th homer leading off the sixth to extend Atlanta's lead. It was his first long ball since a two-homer game against the New York Mets on July 26. He went 3 for 3 after coming into the game mired in a 1-for-29 slump.

“It felt good to finally put the barrel on one,” said Duvall, who is hitting just .186. “It's been a tough year.”

The Phillies jumped ahead in the first after Kyle Schwarber started the game by reaching on Schwellenbach's lone walk. Harper followed with a single, and Nick Castellanos got the run home by beating out a potential inning-ending double play.

Atlanta tied it in the second on a ground-rule double by newcomer Gio Urshela, who joined the team this week after Austin Riley went on the injured list with a fractured hand.

Whit Merrifield started the third by dropping down a bunt for a hit. He scored the go-ahead run on Matt Olson's double off the wall in right. The Phillies botched a rundown that same inning, but Sánchez worked around it.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Braves OF Jorge Soler is expected to return to the lineup Friday for the opener of a weekend series against the Washington Nationals. Soler hasn't started since Aug. 14 because of a strained hamstring.

UP NEXT:

Phillies: RH Taijuan Walker (3-4, 5.69 ERA) is set to pitch Friday when Philadelphia heads to Kansas City to begin an interleague series between playoff contenders. RH Michael Wacha (10-6, 3.33) gets the nod for the Royals.

Braves: LH Chris Sale (14-3, 2.62) seeks his fifth straight win Friday against the Nationals. He hasn't lost since June 27, going 4-0 with a 2.30 ERA over his last eight starts. Washington will counter with LH MacKenzie Gore (7-11, 4.66).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) celebrates hitting an RBI-double in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Braves reliever Raisel Iglesias (26) celebrates the last stike with Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy (12) after the nineth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson (28) gets caught between third base and home in the third inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) reacts to a pitch in the third inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

in the xx inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Braves pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach (56) delivers against the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Braves outfielder Adam Duvall (14) hits a single in the second inning in the of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Braves outfielder Adam Duvall (14) celebrates after hitting a solo homer against the Philadelphia Phillies in the sixth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Braves reliever Raisel Iglesias (26) celebrates the last stike after the nineth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Braves pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach (56) deloivers against the Philadelphia Phillies in the second inning of a baseball game, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

MORGAN CITY, La. (AP) — Francine weakened Thursday after striking Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, sent storm surge rushing into coastal communities and raised flooding fears in New Orleans and beyond.

As the system moved inland, emergency crews began clearing roads, utility workers started restoring electricity and neighbors helped pick up the pieces. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries, Gov. Jeff Landry said.

“The human spirit is defined by its resiliency, and resiliency is what defines Louisiana,” Landry told a news conference. “Certainly there are times and situations that try us, but it is also when we in this state are at our very best.”

At the peak of the storm, 450,000 people in Louisiana were without power, based on numbers reported by the Public Service Commission. Many of the outages were linked to falling debris, not structural damage. At one point, around 500 people were in emergency shelters, state officials said.

“The amount of money invested in resilience has really made a difference, from the power outages to the number of homes saved,” said Deanne Criswell, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who attended the governor's news conference.

The storm drenched the northern Gulf Coast. Up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain was possible in parts of Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Georgia, with up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) possible in some parts of Alabama and Florida. Flash flooding threatened cities as far away as Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; Memphis, Tennessee; and Atlanta.

Francine slammed the Louisiana coast Wednesday evening with 100 mph (155 kph) winds in coastal Terrebonne Parish, battering a fragile coastal region that has not fully recovered from a series of devastating hurricanes in 2020 and 2021. The system then moved at a fast clip toward New Orleans, lashing the city with torrential rain. The city awoke to widespread power outages and debris-covered streets. Home generators roared outside some houses.

Rushing water nearly enveloped a pickup truck in a New Orleans underpass, trapping the driver inside. A 39-year-old emergency room nurse who lived nearby grabbed a hammer, waded into the waist-high water, smashed the window and pulled the driver out. It was all captured on live television by a WDSU news crew.

“It’s just second nature I guess, being a nurse, you just go in and get it done, right?” Miles Crawford told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday. “I just had to get to get him out of there.”

He said the water was up to the driver’s head and rising. Crawford told the man to move to the back of the truck’s cab, which gave him more room, and since the front end of the pickup was angled down, into deeper water.

“I wasn’t really questioning whether I should do it — it was just who is going to get it done,” he recalled, adding that he never caught the man's name.

News footage from coastal communities showed waves from lakes, rivers and Gulf waters thrashing seawalls. Water poured into city streets in blinding downpours. Oak and cypress trees leaned in the high winds, and some utility poles swayed.

By early Thursday, water was receding from flooded streets in Jefferson Parish, but canals were still high, parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng said in a social media post. Pumps that operated through the night could not keep up with the storm, causing sewer system problems, she said.

She asked residents to give the parish time to clear the streets, noting that the hazards after a storm can sometimes be more dangerous than the storm itself.

As the sun rose in Morgan City, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from where Francine made landfall, residents gathered tree branches that were strewn across their yards, where water rose almost to their doors. Pamela Miller, 54, stepped outside to survey the damage after a large tree fell on the roof of her home.

“It was a really loud noise, a jolt, and that’s when we realized the tree had come down,” she said. “Luckily it did not go through the roof.”

Jeffrey Beadle, 67, emerged from the hotel room where he sheltered for the night.

Beadle left his home in low-lying Bayou Louis, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) outside town, on Wednesday as the rain picked up. He lived there for 30 years without any major damage, but he was worried this time would be different because his home was right in the hurricane’s path. He loaded his car in preparation to check on his home.

“There’s nobody over on that end I can call,” he said, explaining that he did not know what he would find. "Hope everything’s good.”

Sheriff’s deputies helped evacuate dozens of people, including many small children, who were trapped by rising water Wednesday evening in Thibodaux. Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said deputies also rescued residents in the Kraemer community.

The National Hurricane Center downgraded Francine from a tropical storm to a tropical depression with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (56 kph) as it churned north-northeast over Mississippi. The system was expected to continue weakening and become a post-tropical cyclone later Thursday before slowing down and moving over central and northern Mississippi through early Friday.

The sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Francine drew fuel from exceedingly warm Gulf of Mexico waters.

In addition to torrential rains, there was a lingering threat of spinoff tornadoes from the storm Thursday in Florida and Alabama.

In the Louisiana town of Ashland, 73-year-old Wilson Garner stood on the steps of a FEMA trailer he has lived in since his previous home was destroyed by Hurricane Ida in 2021. He has been trying for years to get enough money to fix up the old place. The $1,000 monthly rental stipend from FEMA is not enough for him to move, he said.

“You find a place for $1,000, man, you’re very lucky,” he said. “We just haven’t had no success. Where am I going to go? I don’t know.”

Cline reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Associated Press writers Kevin McGill in New Orleans, Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida, Jeff Martin in Atlanta, and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this story.

A mangled tree blocks covers part of the street in front of a house in New Orleans' Carrollton neighborhood as Hurricane Francine hit the city with high winds and flooding rain on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Kevin McGill)

Having never before experienced the powerful forces of a hurricane, meteorologist Max Claypool of Memphis, Tenn. tries to see if the powerful winds blowing from the Hurricane Francine eye wall could lift him further in the air on Wednesday, Sept.11, 2024, Houma, La. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

People watch Hurricane Francine from inside the Sheraton on Canal Street in New Orleans, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Rainfall from Hurricane Francine makes the white roof of the Caesars Superdome, left, difficult to see in New Orleans, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

An air mattress blows in wind from Hurricane Francine in New Orleans, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

The entrance to Lake Ponchartrain Causeway is closed due to Hurricane Francine in Metairie, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. The causeway is the longest continuous bridge over water in the world. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Fox Weather on-air talent Bob Van Dillen reports on Hurricane Francine from Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

A car is submerged to its wheel well on Neyrey Dr. as water overflows the nearby W. Napoleon Ave drainage canal after a deluge of rain from Hurricane Francine in Metairie, La., in Jefferson Parish, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

The W. Napoleon Ave drainage canal, behind guard rail, is about even with the road which is submerged with floodwaters. The W. Napoleon drainage canal overtopped after a deluge of rain from Hurricane Francine in Metairie, La., in Jefferson Parish, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Conrad Bach gets doused with lake water while looking at waves from the wind and rain from Hurricane Francine along Lakeshore Drive along Lake Ponchartrain in New Orleans, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Morgan City firefighters respond to a home fire during Hurricane Francine in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Morgan City firefighters respond to a home fire during Hurricane Francine in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Orleans Levee District Police patrol Lakeshore Drive along Lake Ponchartrain as wind and rain pick up from Hurricane Francine in New Orleans, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

Having never before experienced the powerful forces of a hurricane, meteorologist Max Claypool of Memphis, Tenn. tries to see if the powerful winds blowing from the Hurricane Francine eye wall could lift him further in the air on Wednesday, Sept.11, 2024, Houma, La. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Melanie Galindo's hair flies in the swirl of fast-moving air as the eye wall of Hurricane Francine crosses into the Houma area in Louisiana on Wednesday, September 11, 2024. (Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune via AP)

FEMA Region 6 Administrator Tony Robinson speaks Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La., as the state of Louisiana prepares for Hurricane Francine's arrival. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP)

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry speaks Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Baton Rouge, La., as the state of Louisiana prepares for Hurricane Francine's arrival. (Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP)

Rainwater accumulates around Nolan and Macie Melancon as they fill up sandbags for their home located a few miles away in Houma, La., as the region gets ready for the arrival of Hurricane Francine on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Chris Granger /The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Lindsey Ranney and her dog Fig fill the trunk of Ranney's car with sandbags in preparation for Hurricane Francine from a pile of sand provided by Harrison County at the end of Courthouse Boulevard in Gulfport, Miss. on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Hannah Ruhoff/The Sun Herald via AP)

A customer buys water at a mostly boarded up Birdies Food and Fuel, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Luling, La., ahead of Hurricane Francine. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

A customer enters a gas station that is boarded up in anticipation of Hurricane Francine, in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Dulac residents, top left, sit on their front porch as they watch water rise around their elevated home as the effects of Hurricane Francine are felt along the Louisiana coast on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

This GOES-16 GeoColor satellite image taken at 4:01 p.m. EDT and provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Hurricane Francine as it approaches landfall over Louisiana, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (NOAA via AP)

Morgan City firefighters respond to a home fire during Hurricane Francine in Morgan City, La., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Sparse traffic moves along Interstate 10, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, near Frenier Landing, La., ahead of Hurricane Francine. (David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)