Phillies Beat Braves Again on 4 Late Runs
|
|
|
|
|
The Phillies blew a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning but came charging back with 2 runs in the eighth inning, on 2nd baseman Chase Utley’s RBI triple and 1st baseman Ryan Howard’s RBI single, and 2 more in the ninth on shortstop Jimmie Rollins’ homer. Reliever Tom Gordon and closer Brad Lidge struck out the sides in the eighth and ninth to nail down a 6-2 win over the Atlanta Braves.
With the win, the Phils remained atop the NL East by 3 1/2 games over the Florida Marlins who charged back from 2 runs down scoring 3 runs in the ninth inning to edge the Cincinnati Reds. The Braves dropped to 5 1/2 games behind and the Mets, who dropped their game to San Diego in extra innings, are in 4th place 6 1/2 games down.
For four innings, Kyle Kendrick and 23 year old lefthander Jo-Jo Reyes were knotted in a 0-0 duel until catcher Carlos Ruiz solved Reyes for a lead-off homer in the fifth. With 2 out in the sixth, leftfielder Pat Burrell went yard to give the Phils a 2-0 lead.
But in the Braves sixth, 2nd baseman Kelly Johnson led off with a single to rightfield and 3rd baseman Chipper Jones followed with a centerfield homer to tie the score at 2-2. After one out, a walk and a single, manager Manuel replaced Kendrick with Ryan Madson who got the 2nd out, then loaded the bases before getting the side out on a grounder to 1st base.
Kendrick thew 90 pitches through his 5 1/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 4 hits. But he suffered with control problems walking 5 while striking out 3 and was not in on the final decision.
After Madson retired the lead-off hitter in the seventh inning on a ground out to the pitcher, Manuel went to lefthanded reliever J.C. Romero to face the lefthanded hitting Johnson and switch-hitter Chipper Jones as the Braves were 3-up, 3-down in the seventh inning. Romero emerged as the winning pitcher with a 4-1 mark as the Phils scored 2 runs in the eighth on Utley’s RBI triple and Howard’s RBI single.
Losing pitcher Reyes hit the showers in the eighth with 1 out after centerfielder Shane Victorino walked and Utley followed with his RBI triple giving the Phils the lead. Howard then hit a soft fly single to rightfield to score Utley with the Phillies’ 4th run, also charged to Reyes.
Reyes went 7 1/3 innings throwing 109 pitches while giving up 4 runs on 7 hits walking 2 and striking out 8.
After stiking out the first 2 hitters in the eighth, Tom Gordon got into a bit of hot water as rightfielder Jeff Francoeur singled and centerfielder Gregor Blanco walked. But Gordon struck out leftfielder Josh Anderson to retire the side on strikeouts.
In the ninth, with one out after a lead-off walk to Ruiz, shortstop Jimmie Rollins added 2 insurance runs with a rightfield homer off of reliever Jeff Bennett. Then closer Lidge took care of the rest striking out the side in a 3-up, 3-down Braves ninth.
AP Sports Writer Charles Odum notes for Yahoo sports;
The NL East-leading Phillies are 4-1 against the Braves this season. The Phillies are the first team this season to win the first two games of a series in Atlanta. The Braves are 25-10 in those games.
“It’s been big for us,” Victorino said. “When you’re playing a division rival, it’s big. … Look at their home record. They play so well at home.”
For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Saturday’s games, click here.
In Sunday’s final, Adam Eaton opposes 30 year old reliever turned starter Jorge Campillo.
After Atlanta, the Phillies move on to Florida and then St. Louis before returning home to play Boston and the L. A. Angels in inter-league competition.
For the scores, boxscores and recaps on Sunday’s games, click here.
del.icio.us |
digg |
Furl |
Reddit |
YahooMyWeb |