ATLANTA – Lucas Duda’s pinch-hit double drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh, and the Atlanta Braves took another big step toward winning the NL East by beating the Philadelphia Phillies 8-3 Thursday night.
Atlanta leads the second-place Phillies by 6 1/2 games after the opener of the four-game series. The teams close the regular season with three games at Philadelphia, but the Phillies need to win at least three of four in Atlanta to retain hope of making that final series meaningful.
The Braves have a magic number of four over Philadelphia to clinch their first division title since 2013.
Freddie Freeman had two hits and scored two runs. He has eight hits in his past three games.
Tommy Hunter (4-4), the Phillies’ fifth pitcher of the game, gave up a leadoff double to Dansby Swanson in the seventh. The left-handed-hitting Duda pulled the run-scoring double into the right-field corner, giving Atlanta the 4-3 lead.
The Braves pulled away with four runs in the eighth.
Swanson, who had two hits, drew a bases-loaded walk from Luis Garcia in the inning to force in a run. Pinch-hitter Charlie Culberson and Ronald Acuna Jr. drove in runs with back-to-back fly balls off Austin Davis, the Phillies’ eighth pitcher, and Ender Inciarte added a run-scoring single. Garcia gave up four runs without recording an out.
Atlanta’s Jesse Biddle (6-1), a Phillies first-round pick in 2010, gave up one hit while recording two outs in the seventh.
Braves right-handed starter Kevin Gausman allowed three runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings.
Phillies starting pitcher Vince Velasquez, who began the night 0-4 with a 7.41 ERA in his first four starts against Atlanta this season, allowed three runs on five hits in three innings.
The Phillies scored two runs on three hits, including RBI singles by Odubel Herrera and Jorge Alfaro, in the third.
Nick Markakis had a run-scoring single off Velasquez in Atlanta’s two-run first. Freeman doubled in the third and scored from third on Johan Camargo’s fly ball to center for a 3-all tie.
Chad Sobotka, a 6-foot-7 right-hander, struck out the side in the ninth to end the game.