On Thursday night, Gregory Soto experienced the Phillies-Braves rivalry for the first time. Not as hot, actually.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, with left-handed hitter Eddie Rosario and switch-hitter Ozzie Albies scheduled to come up, the game was tied.
After getting pinch-hitter Kevin Pillar out to start the inning, Soto put five straight Braves on base (single, double, walk, two-run single, single), and three of them scored as the Phillies lost 8-5.
It put a damper on a thrilling night that had the feel of a big game and featured comebacks by the Phillies to tie or take the lead in three different innings.
The first two months Soto spent wearing a Phillies uniform have been peculiar. He has experienced ups and downs, and that is understating it.
He failed to throw strikes in two of his first three outings before giving up just one hit and no earned runs in his following 11 outings.