Cliff Lee wins his second straight start as the Phils defeat the Braves, 5-1.

Cliff Lee wins his second straight start as the Phils beat the Braves, 5-1.

The Phils took the lead in the first as, with two men on, and with two men out, John Mayberry,  Jr. hits an RBI single, knocking in Juan Pierre, who had earlier been safe at first on a force out, 4-unassisted, as Jimmy Rollins, who had started the game off with a single, is tagged out for the inning’s first out, then moved up to second base on Ryan Howard’s single, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead, while Howard, who had just singled, would stop at second base. The Phils then increased their lead in the third as Rollins hits a lead-off home run, his sixteenth home run of the year, as the ball hit the foul pole. The Phils then took a 3-0 lead in the fifth as, with one man on, and with two men out, Chase Utley hits an RBI double, knocking in Pierre, who had just singled. The Phils then increased their lead in the sixth as, with the bases loaded, via singles by Laynce Nix and Kevin Frandsen, with Nix stopping at second base, and an infield single by Erik Kratz, moving up both runners, and with nobody out, Cliff Lee helped his own cause by taking an RBI walk, forcing in Nix, giving the Phils a 4-0 lead, while moving up a base both Frandsen and Kratz. The Phils then made it a 5-0 lead two batters later as, with the bases still loaded, and now with one man out, pinch hitter Ty Wigginton hits into an RBI force out, 5-4, knocking in Frandsen, as Lee is wiped out at second base for the inning’s second out, while Kratz would move up to third base. The Braves would finally get onto the scoreboard in the eighth as Martin Prado hits a lead-off home run, his ninth home run of the season, making it a 5-1 Phils’ lead. That would end up being the final score as Antonio Bastardo pitched a scoreless ninth.

Cliff Lee (4-7, 3.52) got the win as he pitched seven shutout innings, giving up five scattered hits and a walk, while striking out five. B.J. Rosenberg pitched a third of an inning, as he gave up a run on a hit. Antonio Bastardo pitched a scoreless inning and two-thirds, giving up a hit, while striking out four. Tim Hudson (13-5, 3.76) took the lost as he pitched five innings, plus four batters, giving up five runs on nine hits and three walks, while striking out three. Luis Avilan, Peter Moylan and Miguel Batista combined for four scoreless innings, giving up a hit (Batista) and a walk (Batista) between them, while striking out a batter (Batista).

The Phils had ten hits in the game, with Jimmy Rollins leading the team with three hits, two singles and a home run, knocking in a run. Juan Pierre (Single), Chase Utley (Double, RBI), Ryan Howard (Single), John Mayberry, Jr. (Single, RBI), Laynce Nix (Single), Kevin Frandsen (Single) and Erik Kratz (Single) had the other seven hits. Cliff Lee brought in a run on a bases loaded walk, while pinch hitter Ty Wigginton brought in the final Phils’ run on a force out. The Phils also had four walks and a stolen base (Rollins, 25) in the game. 

The Phils (64-69, 3rd) will conclude their series with the Braves (74-59, 2nd) with a late afternoon game. The game will be played at Turner Field, and is to start at 5:05 pm EDT. The Phils will send to the mound Cole Hamels (14-6, 2.99), who is coming off a no-decision against the Reds on August 23, as he pitched six innings, giving up three runs on six hits and three walks, while striking out four, in the Phils’ 4-3 extra-innings win. He will again be trying for his fifteenth win of the year. The Braves will counter with Paul Maholm (11-9, 3.44), who is coming off a lost against the Padres on August 27, as he went six and two-thirds innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and a walk, while striking out five, in the Braves’ 3-0 lost. He will be trying to keep the Braves from being swept. The Phils will be going for the sweep.

Leave a comment