Bullpen Perfect as Phillies Take 2 of 3 From Braves
|
|
|
|
|
Phillies’ veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer pitched 6 1/3 solid innings t0 win his 11th game. 1st baseman Ryan Howard wiped out a 2-1 Braves lead by pounding a one out, three run homer to leftfield in the 5th inning and the bullpen totally shut down Atlanta as the Phillies took 2 of 3 winning a very big series finale by a 5-3 score.
With the win, the Phillies jumped back into 2nd place again, 1/2 game ahead the Braves while staying 3 games behind the Mets, who avoided getting swept on Sunday by the Florida Marlins, winning by a 10-4 score.
In the NL Wild Card race, they remain a game behind the San Diego Padres who again pounded the Cincinnati Reds, also by a 10-4 score.
The Braves broke on top in he 1st inning on 3rd baseman Chipper Jones’ 2 run leftfield single as the first 3 Braves reached on Moyer. The Phils got one of the runs back in the bottom of the inning as they loaded the bases with one out on starter Buddy Carlyle. After centerfielder Aaron Rowand struck out, rightfielder Jayson Werth drove an RBI single to rightfield scoring shortstop Jimmy Rollins. Leftfielder Pat Burrell, having walked and advanced to 2nd base on Ryan Howard’s walk, was thrown out at the plate trying to score by Braves rightfielder Jeff Francoeur.
The score remained 2-1 until the 5th as Moyer settled down going clean on the Braves in the 2nd and 3rd and benefiting from a double-play in the 4th inning.
The Phils mounted a two on, one out threat in the 4th against Carlyle, but Werth was thrown out trying to score from 2nd base on a single to rightfield by 3rd baseman Abraham Nunez as Francoeur registered a 2nd assist. With runners on 2nd and 3rd with two out, Carlyle struck out Moyer to retire the side.
With two on and one out in the 5th inning, Howard made a losing pitcher of Carlyle, putting the Phillies up by 4-2 with his 33rd homer and 95th, 96th and 97th RBIs of the season. Reliever Tyler Yates recorded the final two outs of the inning.
The Braves narrowed the lead to 4-3 in the 7th on an RBI double by 2nd baseman Martin Prado which chased Moyer with reliever Antonio Alfonseca getting the side out easily.
The Phillies got the run back in their half of the 7th as Rollins led off with a triple. After 2nd baseman Tadahito Iguchi grounded out, Burrell sacrificed home the 5th, insurance run. The Phillies bullpen took care of the rest retiring the final 6 Braves in order. Brett Myers pitched the 9th inning and was credited with his 9th save.
For the scores, boxscores on this and all of Sunday’s games, click here.
The Phillies have the day off on Monday before heading to Washington D.C. Tuesday for a 3 game series with the Nationals followed by 3 games in Pittsburgh against the Pirates beginning on Friday.
Recent acquisition Kyle Lohse starts in Tuesday’s opener vs. Shawn Hill who makes his first start since coming off of the DL having suffered left shoulder strain.
For the scores, boxscores on all of Monday’s games, click here.
del.icio.us |
digg |
Furl |
Reddit |
YahooMyWeb |