ATLANTA — Make it 10. Ten straight losses. Ten games under .500.

The Phillies continue to find new ways to lose, and the slide is ugly. At 8-18, it is Philadelphia’s worst start to a season since 2002 and its first 10-game losing streak since 1999. They now sit 10 1/2 games back of first place in the National League East.

In some ways, Friday night’s 5-3 loss to the Braves looked a lot like the Sunday Night Baseball finale against Atlanta that started this week.

What went wrong this time?

PAINTER WAS ROLLING …

Andrew Painter was once again battling through a start. He did not have his best stuff, but he kept making big pitches against a dangerous Braves lineup that entered the night leading the league in runs scored, run differential and wins.

In his last outing against Atlanta, Painter entered the fifth with a high pitch count, gave up back-to-back hits and then watched the Braves make him pay after Rob Thomson went to the bullpen. Atlanta scored three runs, which became the difference in a 4-2 Phillies loss.

This time, Painter pushed through five innings with conviction. He needed only eight pitches to post a scoreless fifth against the top of Atlanta’s order.

So with 81 pitches on his ledger entering the sixth and the Phillies holding a 3-2 lead, it was understandable that Thomson stuck with his rookie.

Thomson thought Painter had earned that chance.

“I thought he was great,” he said. “Fastball was really good early. He had a little trouble landing his secondary stuff, but as the game went on, he got better and better and better.”

… AND THEN IT UNRAVELED

With two on and two out in the sixth, the game turned on Thomson’s decision.

The Braves went to the bench for Michael Harris II, who had been scratched from the starting lineup but entered as one of the hottest hitters in baseball. The Phillies had just started warming up Kyle Backhus in the bullpen. There was a brief pause. Garrett Stubbs signaled to the infield. It felt, at least for a moment, like the Phillies were buying time while deciding whether to go get Painter.

They did not.

Thomson stuck with his rookie, even with the left-on-right matchup and even with Harris already having hurt Painter earlier in the week.

And Harris made the Phillies pay again.

He lined a bases-clearing double into the gap to put Atlanta ahead. Thomson then stayed with Painter for Ronald Acuña Jr., who stole a base and later scored on a wild pitch during an eight-pitch walk. In a matter of minutes, a 3-2 Phillies lead had turned into a 5-3 deficit.

That was the game.

It is fair to question the call. Harris, dating back to the start of 2025, had been just a .236/.266/.382 hitter against left-handed pitching. The Phillies also already had Backhus getting loose.

Thomson’s view was that Painter still looked strong enough to finish the inning himself.

“You take the pinch-hit penalty, and he’s at 85 pitches,” Thomson said. “To me, he was still throwing the ball good.”

He also revealed that the Phillies were really getting Backhus ready for the two left-handed bats that could have followed.

“We really had Backhus for Baldwin and Olson,” Thomson said.

That is the logic. But the result is what matters now, especially for a team in the middle of a 10-game losing streak.

And on the pitch itself, he did not think he missed by much.

“I thought it was a good pitch,” Painter said. “Just too much over the plate.”

There was also the play behind it.

Harris’ drive came off the bat at 104.8 mph, carried an expected batting average of .890 and would have been a home run in 14 of 30 ballparks. Brandon Marsh got a solid read, shaded toward right-center and covered a lot of ground, but the ball kept carrying.

“I had a good beat on it, just a little too far,” Marsh said. “That’s a play I need to have, especially in a situation like that.”

Maybe. Maybe not. It was a very tough chance either way.

LOSING THEMES KEEP STACKING

The Phillies keep finding new ways to underline the same problem. They have scored three runs or fewer in 15 games this season. They are 2-13 in those contests. When they trail after six innings, they are now 2-17.

They got home runs from Trea Turner and Bryce Harper in separate innings Friday, and even scoring in multiple innings almost feels notable right now. They had entered the night 6-3 when homering at least twice in a game.

The Phillies also had a golden chance to break the tie in the fourth with the bases loaded, but their struggles in those spots continued. They now have eight strikeouts in 18 at-bats with the bases loaded, with only four hits.

That is not a formula for stopping a 10-game losing streak.

Harper was blunt afterward.

“It doesn’t matter until you win a game,” he said.

He also pointed to something the Phillies have danced around for days now: too many hitters trying to do too much.

“We just got to be ballplayers,” Harper said. “We can’t all try to go deep or all try to do more.”

Thomson saw some better at-bats again, but said the club still has to keep things simple.

“We just got to keep after it,” he said. “Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us. We just got to keep going.”

ARE THERE ANY POSITIVES?

Turner had been scuffling of late, batting .225, but he reached base twice and homered to the opposite field. That matters for him. He is naturally more of a pull hitter, but when he is using the whole field, he is usually in a very good place offensively.

This year, more than 32 percent of his batted balls have gone the other way, a career high.

Harper also stayed hot. He homered again and now owns a .981 OPS on the road, his highest away mark since 2017.

But at this point, the Phillies are digging hard for silver linings.

On Thursday, they hit 12 balls hard. On Friday, they again produced plenty of quality contact. But it added up to only three runs. They still put seven zeroes on the board and failed to claw back.

So now they turn to Zack Wheeler.

The Phillies will try to stop the spiral Saturday when their ace returns to the mound. And Harper made it clear what that means, both personally and for a team desperate for something to feel good about.

“For him to be able to come back and be Zach … I’m excited for him on a personal level,” Harper said.

At this point, the Phillies are not just looking for a win. They are looking for something they can point to later as the moment the season stopped spiraling.