The Philadelphia Phillies split a four-game series with the Atlanta Braves after losing 11-4 last night after a miserable start from Dylan Covey.

Covey, who was signed off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers, got his first start for the Phillies, and honestly, it couldn’t have gone any worse, surrendering seven runs (five earned) on six hits in just 0.2 innings of work.

After handing Braves’ ace Spencer Strider a seven-run lead in the first, you had to know last night’s Sunday Night Baseball game on ESPN wasn’t going to go in the Phillies’ favor.

Strider struck out nine while pitching six innings and allowed just two runs on the night. He became the fastest pitcher to hit 100 strikeouts (61 innings), passing Jacob deGrom’s record of 61 2/3 set in 2021.

Cool.

Brandon Marsh got the Phillies on the board with a two-run home run in the top of the third inning to make the game 7-2.

Brandon Marsh gets the Phils on the board with a two-run shot pic.twitter.com/zdLgMo8XBb

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 28, 2023

The Braves hit parade continued in the bottom of the fifth, with Matt Olson hitting his second home run of the game. Here’s what Atlanta’s top six in the lineup did last night against the Phillies’ pitching.

Kyle Schwarber hit his 13th home run of the season in the top of the seventh in an attempt to make the final box score respectable at 10-4.

Matt Olson put another run on the board to make the game 11-4 in the bottom of the seventh and that was all she wrote in Atlanta for the Phillies.

With the four-game split, the Phillies drew no blood against the Braves and will now head to New York to play three against the Mets starting tomorrow.

Ranger Suarez will get the start in Queens tomorrow, as the Phillies rotation will head back to the drawing board to find a reliable fifth starter.

Falter didn’t work. Covey didn’t work either.

I would suggest looking in Reading, where Griff McGarry has been solid since returning from injury.

Mandatory Credit: Getty Images