4 takeaways from Braves-Phillies: Ronald Acuña Jr. looks very back, the Phillies' bullpen could be their downfall and more

The top of the National League East played itself to a stalemate this holiday weekend in Philadelphia, as the visiting Atlanta Braves and the hosting Phillies split a four-game set, two wins apiece. It was a captivating showdown between familiar rivals, one packed with impressive performances and knife's edge moments. But in the end, Walt Weiss' Braves left the Citizens Bank Park thunderdome with the same four-game division lead with which they arrived . Much happened — and little, too. At this point, the division is Atlanta's to lose.

That said, despite the dwindling of the baseball calendar, these clubs are not finished with each other yet. Three more regular-season games remain next weekend in Georgia. And, of course, there's always the opportunity for a big-time rendezvous come October.

The most consequential swing of the series — and perhaps Atlanta's entire season — came Sunday afternoon via the suddenly en fuego Ronald Acuña Jr . With the Braves down three and a pair on, the electrifying outfielder tied things up with a three-run crowd-silencer. After warding off six consecutive fastballs from Philly reliever Alex McFarlane, Acuña put the seventh, a 100.5-mph four-seamer, into the seats. As he rounded the sacks, the ever-emotive slugger unleashed his elaborate cornucopia of long-ball celebrations, much to the displeasure of the booing Philadelphia crowd.

It has been a stop-and-start year for Acuña . Twice he was pushed to the IL due to left hamstring tightness. As recently as last week, his numbers looked underwhelming at best. Fastballs, particularly those up and above the strike zone, were giving him fits. But on Wednesday against Washington, he took a heater out for just the second time this season. It was a harbinger of things to come.

In all, Acuña went 7-for-15 with two doubles and two homers against Philadelphia. His blast off a Zack Wheeler sweeper on Saturday prompted a cutting response from the veteran hurler, who tossed shade on Acuña's big-fly theatrics.

"Our guy just rounds the bases — who hits 50 here," he said, referring to MLB home run leader Kyle Schwarber.

Acuña responded to Wheeler's criticism with that dramatic long ball the following day. But a ninth-inning, one-out, full-count walk during Monday's loss was perhaps even more instructive of just how locked in Acuña is right now. He took three elevated fastballs from a dialed Jesús Luzardo before spitting on a back-foot slider to draw a huge free pass. Luzardo ultimately stranded Acuña on first , but the Phillies will be hoping the Braves' superstar cools off before the two teams meet again.

The Phillies' arms kept Atlanta's lefty bats quiet

Atlanta's typically dangerous left-handed swingers went a combined 10-for-59 with just two doubles and no homers during the four-game set. Drake Baldwin delivered a relatively powerless 5-for-18. Michael Harris II was held to two singles. Matt Olson had only one knock and one walk in 15 trips to the dish.

It's no surprise that Philadelphia's magnificent left-handed tandem of Cristopher Sánchez and Luzardo were able to keep same-sided swingers at bay. Sánchez has been brilliant all season. Luzardo owns the lowest ERA in the National League (2.01) since June 1 and delivered a masterclass complete-game shutout on Monday . Both should finish in the top five of NL Cy Young voting.

More notable, then, was that Philadelphia hurlers not named Sánchez or Luzardo limited Braves hitters to an 8-for-47 line. Baldwin was the only Atlanta lefty with multiple knocks off a righty. Saturday starter Wheeler and Sunday starter Aaron Nola each surrendered just one hit to a lefty batter. That's a massive development, considering how thin Atlanta's lineup is on righties beyond Acuña.

It's also a testament to the humming-on-all-cylinders Philadelphia starting staff. Everybody but Sánchez went through an extended lull at some point this year, but Wheeler, Nola and Luzardo have all gotten their seasons back on track. The same is true for Andrew Painter, the only Phillies starter who didn't throw in this series.

The Phillies' bullpen is walking a tightrope

In contrast to the starters, Phillies relievers allowed seven earned runs across eight innings of work in the series, a concerning trend for a unit treading water. It'd already been a difficult stretch for Orion Kerkering before the sweeper-heavy righty was touched for a pair in the eighth inning Friday. Kerkering's dip had opened the door for the rookie McFarlane, who'd been gradually climbing up skipper Don Mattingly's trust tree. Then he got popped by Acuña on Sunday.

The team's two most reliable options, Jhoan Duran and Jonathan Bowlan, both coughed up runs over the weekend as well. Mattingly's decision to let Luzardo finish his game was likely motivated, at least in part, by the team's undermanned relief corps.

Part of the blame for the bullpen shortage falls on president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. The exec's lone deadline bullpen addition, Caleb Kilian, made just four appearances as a Philly before landing on the IL due to an oblique strain. That's bad luck. Not acquiring anyone else was bad process.

At this point, only Duran and Bowlan are 100 percent dependable. Everyone else is making you sweat. Maybe one or more of Kerkering, McFarlane, José Alvarado or Brooks Raley can ride a hot stretch and gain Mattingly's trust. But it's seeming more and more likely that this unreinforced bullpen will end up being Philadelphia's October downfall.

Atlanta's pitching is better than you think

The Phillies, by a wide margin, hold the starting pitching advantage in this matchup. If you were to construct a starting rotation from these two teams, it would be one Brave (Chris Sale) and four Phillies (Sánchez, Wheeler, Nola and Luzardo). But across four games, Atlanta proved once again that its entire staff might be superior to Philadelphia's.

Tyler Mahle and Grant Holmes, the hurlers likely to toe the slab in Games 2 and 3 behind Sale in a playoff series, were both outstanding over the weekend. They each threw six scoreless; Mahle on Sunday, Holmes on Monday. Neither have knock-you-over stuff, but Mahle and Holmes are cunning operators who know how to rack up outs.

More importantly, Atlanta's bullpen was masterful, as it's been all season. Only the Yankees and Red Sox have lower relief ERAs and WHIPs than the Braves. Dylan Lee has evolved into the perfect neutralizer for Philadelphia's lefties. The ageless Raisel Iglesias keeps on trucking. And besides one mistake to Kyle Schwarber, the 21-year-old Didier Fuentes was impressive across two multi-inning outings. Destined for a rotation spot next season, Fuentes could emerge as a secret weapon for Atlanta in the playoffs.