GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: ATLANTA (82-74) at PHILADELPHIA (85-71)

NL: ATLANTA at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
ATLANTA 10
PHILADELPHIA 6 FINAL</div>

 

NL: ATLANTA at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ATLANTA (10) AT PHILADELPHIA (6) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ATLANTA 1ST: Y Escobar doubled to right center. E Renteria walked.
C Jones popped out to first. M Teixeira homered to center, Y Escobar and
E Renteria scored. J Francoeur popped out to shortstop. A Jones struck out
swinging. (3 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3, PHILADELPHIA 0.

PHILADELPHIA 1ST: J Rollins homered to center. C Utley struck out
swinging. P Burrell struck out swinging. R Howard lined out to right. (1 Run,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3, PHILADELPHIA 1.

ATLANTA 4TH: M Teixeira grounded out to shortstop. J Francoeur flied out
to right. A Jones doubled to deep left. B McCann singled to center, A Jones
scored. M Diaz walked, B McCann to second. C James grounded out to pitcher.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 4, PHILADELPHIA 1.

PHILADELPHIA 4TH: C Utley struck out looking. P Burrell walked. R Howard
homered to center, P Burrell scored. A Rowand struck out swinging. J Werth
homered to left. J Bennett relieved C James. C Ruiz reached on infield single
to shortstop. A Nunez grounded out to first. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
ATLANTA 4, PHILADELPHIA 4.

PHILADELPHIA 5TH: J Moyer grounded out to shortstop. J Rollins struck out
swinging, J Rollins safe at first on wild pitch by J Bennett. C Utley singled
to right, J Rollins to third. P Burrell hit sacrifice fly to left, J Rollins
scored, C Utley to second. R Howard intentionally walked. A Rowand grounded
out to second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 4, PHILADELPHIA 5.

ATLANTA 6TH: J Francoeur doubled to deep left. A Jones singled to center,
J Francoeur scored, A Jones to second advancing on throw. B McCann grounded
out to pitcher. G Geary relieved J Moyer. M Diaz singled to center, A Jones
scored. W Harris hit for J Bennett. W Harris struck out swinging. Y Escobar
doubled to deep right, M Diaz to third. E Renteria singled to right, M Diaz
and Y Escobar scored. C Jones grounded out to pitcher. (4 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors)
ATLANTA 8, PHILADELPHIA 5.

PHILADELPHIA 7TH: S Victorino hit for J Mesa. S Victorino flied out to
right. J Rollins struck out looking. C Utley homered to left center.
P Burrell flied out to center. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 8, PHILADELPHIA 6.

ATLANTA 9TH: T Gordon relieved J Romero. Y Escobar grounded out to pitcher.
E Renteria singled to right center. C Jones homered to right, E Renteria
scored. M Teixeira grounded out to first. C Condrey relieved T Gordon.
J Francoeur reached on infield single to third. A Jones singled to left,
J Francoeur to second. B McCann flied out to left. (2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)
ATLANTA 10, PHILADELPHIA 6.</div>

 

Braves club Phillies, inch closer in wild card race

<h3>ATLANTA 10, PHILADELPHIA 6</h3>By Vince DiGregorio
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) - Somebody forgot to tell the NationalLeague that the Atlanta Braves are part of the wild card race.

Atlanta scored four runs in the sixth inning and went on to beatthe Philadelphia Phillies, 10-6, in the opener of a crucialthree-game series at Citizens Bank Park.


The Braves (83-74) won for the eighth time in their last ninegames and moved within 2 1/2 games of the San Diego Padres(85-71) for the NL wild card. The Phillies (85-72) fell ahalf-game behind San Diego.


With Atlanta trailing, 6-5, Jeff Francoeur opened the sixth witha double and scored on Andruw Jones' bloop single to shallowcenter to tie the game at 5-5. One out later, Geoff Gearyreplaced Phillies starter Jamie Moyer, but Matt Diaz groundedhis first pitch for an RBI single to center, giving the Braves a6-5 lead.


One out later, Yunel Escobar doubled to put runners on secondand third. Edgar Renteria followed with a two-run single toright to give Atlanta an 8-5 advantage.


Philadelphia's Chase Utley hit his 22nd home run in the seventhto cut the deficit to 8-6, but Chipper Jones blasted a two-runhome run off Tom Gordon in the ninth to make it 10-6. Jones'28th homer went off the facing of the second deck in rightfield.


Jeff Bennett (2-0) got the win in relief for Atlanta. Moyer(13-12) took the loss for Philadelphia.


Moyer seemed to be battling a small strike zone by home plateumpire C.B. Bucknor at the start of the game. Moyer fell behindEscobar 3-0 before Escobar hit a low liner to center for adouble that caromed off Aaron Rowand, who dove for the ball.

Moyer then walked Renteria on four pitches. After Chipper Jonespopped out, Mark Teixeira drove a 2-2 pitch over the centerfield fence for a three-run home run to give the Braves a 3-1lead.


Teixeira's 15th homer came after he took a couple of closepitches during the at-bat.


Jimmy Rollins answered for Philadelphia in the bottom half ofthe first, hitting a 2-2 pitch from Atlanta starter Chuck Jamesinto the left-center field seats for his 30th home run of theseason to cut the deficit to 3-1.


Rollins hit his ninth leadoff homer of the season and 26thcareer. He also joined Bobby Abreu as the only Phillies playersto have 30 home runs and 30 steals in a season.


Atlanta used a two-out rally in the fourth to increase itsmargin to 4-1. Andruw Jones lined a double down the left fieldline and came around to score on a single by Brian McCann.

The Phillies erupted in their half of the frame to tie thescore. James had retired 10 in a row before Pat Burrell drew aone-out walk. Ryan Howard then blasted a 2-0 pitch into thePhillies bullpen in right-center for his 43rd home run to pullPhiladelphia within 4-3.


After Rowand struck out, Jayson Werth hit a 3-2 pitch over theleft-center field wall for his eighth homer to tie the game,4-4.


James was removed after Werth's blast in favor of Bennett, whogot out of the inning.


James went 3 2/3 innings and allowed four runs on three hits,all three of which were home runs. The lefthander walked oneand struck out six.


Burrell gave Philadelphia a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning with asacrifice fly.


Moyer pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up six runs on six hits withthree walks and four strikeouts.

 

NL: ATLANTA at PHILADELPHIA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ATLANTA (10) AT PHILADELPHIA (6) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Atlanta Starting Lineups -- Y Escobar 2B, E Renteria SS, C Jones 3B, M Teixeira 1B,
J Francoeur RF, A Jones CF, B McCann C, M Diaz LF, C James LHP.

Philadelphia Starting Lineups -- J Rollins SS, C Utley 2B, P Burrell LF,
R Howard 1B, A Rowand CF, J Werth RF, C Ruiz C, A Nunez 3B, J Moyer LHP.

Umpires -- C.B. Bucknor (HP), Joe West (1B), Ed Rapuano (2B), Ed Hickox (3B).


Gametime Weather: 82 degrees, Clear, wind out to center at 13 mph.


ATLANTA 1ST: Y Escobar doubled to right center. E Renteria walked.
C Jones popped out to first. M Teixeira homered to center, Y Escobar and
E Renteria scored. J Francoeur popped out to shortstop. A Jones struck out
swinging. (3 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3, PHILADELPHIA 0.

PHILADELPHIA 1ST: J Rollins homered to center. C Utley struck out
swinging. P Burrell struck out swinging. R Howard lined out to right. (1 Run,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3, PHILADELPHIA 1.

ATLANTA 2ND: B McCann grounded out to second. M Diaz grounded out to
second. C James struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3,
PHILADELPHIA 1.

PHILADELPHIA 2ND: A Rowand struck out swinging. J Werth struck out
swinging. C Ruiz lined out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3,
PHILADELPHIA 1.

ATLANTA 3RD: Y Escobar struck out looking. E Renteria grounded out to
third. C Jones grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3,
PHILADELPHIA 1.

PHILADELPHIA 3RD: A Nunez grounded out to shortstop. J Moyer flied out to
left. J Rollins lined out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 3,
PHILADELPHIA 1.

ATLANTA 4TH: M Teixeira grounded out to shortstop. J Francoeur flied out
to right. A Jones doubled to deep left. B McCann singled to center, A Jones
scored. M Diaz walked, B McCann to second. C James grounded out to pitcher.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 4, PHILADELPHIA 1.

PHILADELPHIA 4TH: C Utley struck out looking. P Burrell walked. R Howard
homered to center, P Burrell scored. A Rowand struck out swinging. J Werth
homered to left. J Bennett relieved C James. C Ruiz reached on infield single
to shortstop. A Nunez grounded out to first. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
ATLANTA 4, PHILADELPHIA 4.

ATLANTA 5TH: Y Escobar grounded out to third. E Renteria flied out to
left. C Jones walked. M Teixeira struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) ATLANTA 4, PHILADELPHIA 4.

PHILADELPHIA 5TH: J Moyer grounded out to shortstop. J Rollins struck out
swinging, J Rollins safe at first on wild pitch by J Bennett. C Utley singled
to right, J Rollins to third. P Burrell hit sacrifice fly to left, J Rollins
scored, C Utley to second. R Howard intentionally walked. A Rowand grounded
out to second. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 4, PHILADELPHIA 5.

ATLANTA 6TH: J Francoeur doubled to deep left. A Jones singled to center,
J Francoeur scored, A Jones to second advancing on throw. B McCann grounded
out to pitcher. G Geary relieved J Moyer. M Diaz singled to center, A Jones
scored. W Harris hit for J Bennett. W Harris struck out swinging. Y Escobar
doubled to deep right, M Diaz to third. E Renteria singled to right, M Diaz
and Y Escobar scored. C Jones grounded out to pitcher. (4 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors)
ATLANTA 8, PHILADELPHIA 5.

PHILADELPHIA 6TH: M Acosta relieved J Bennett. J Werth flied out to right.
C Ruiz popped out to first. A Nunez grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) ATLANTA 8, PHILADELPHIA 5.

ATLANTA 7TH: J Mesa relieved G Geary. M Teixeira lined out to right.
J Francoeur popped out to second. A Jones popped out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) ATLANTA 8, PHILADELPHIA 5.

PHILADELPHIA 7TH: S Victorino hit for J Mesa. S Victorino flied out to
right. J Rollins struck out looking. C Utley homered to left center.
P Burrell flied out to center. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 8, PHILADELPHIA 6.

ATLANTA 8TH: J Romero relieved J Mesa. B McCann struck out looking. M Diaz
flied out to right. M Prado hit for M Acosta. M Prado lined out to second.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 8, PHILADELPHIA 6.

PHILADELPHIA 8TH: R Mahay relieved M Acosta. R Howard lined out to left.
P Moylan relieved R Mahay. A Rowand grounded out to shortstop. J Werth grounded
out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 8, PHILADELPHIA 6.

ATLANTA 9TH: T Gordon relieved J Romero. Y Escobar grounded out to pitcher.
E Renteria singled to right center. C Jones homered to right, E Renteria
scored. M Teixeira grounded out to first. C Condrey relieved T Gordon.
J Francoeur reached on infield single to third. A Jones singled to left,
J Francoeur to second. B McCann flied out to left. (2 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)
ATLANTA 10, PHILADELPHIA 6.

PHILADELPHIA 9TH: R Soriano relieved P Moylan. C Ruiz flied out to right.
P LaForest hit for A Nunez. P LaForest popped out to second. G Dobbs hit for
C Condrey. G Dobbs flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) ATLANTA 10,
PHILADELPHIA 6.</div>

 

Braves club Phillies, inch closer in wild card race

<h3>ATLANTA 10, PHILADELPHIA 6</h3>By Vince DiGregorio
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) - Somebody forgot to tell the NationalLeague that the Atlanta Braves are part of the wild card race.

Atlanta scored four runs in the sixth inning and went on to beatthe Philadelphia Phillies, 10-6, in the opener of a crucialthree-game series at Citizens Bank Park.


The Braves (83-74) won for the eighth time in their last ninegames and moved within 2 1/2 games of the San Diego Padres(85-71) for the NL wild card. The Phillies (85-72) fell ahalf-game behind San Diego.


With Atlanta trailing, 5-4, Jeff Francoeur opened the sixth witha double and scored on Andruw Jones' bloop single to shallowcenter to tie the game at 5-5. One out later, Geoff Gearyreplaced Phillies starter Jamie Moyer, but Matt Diaz groundedhis first pitch for an RBI single to center, giving the Braves a6-5 lead.


One out later, Yunel Escobar doubled to put runners on secondand third. Edgar Renteria followed with a two-run single toright to give Atlanta an 8-5 advantage.


Philadelphia's Chase Utley hit his 22nd home run in the seventhto cut the deficit to 8-6, but Chipper Jones blasted a two-runhome run off Tom Gordon in the ninth to make it 10-6. Jones'28th homer went off the facing of the second deck in rightfield.


Jeff Bennett (2-0) got the win in relief for Atlanta. Moyer(13-12) took the loss for Philadelphia.


Moyer seemed to be battling a small strike zone by home plateumpire C.B. Bucknor at the start of the game. Moyer fell behindEscobar 3-0 before Escobar hit a low liner to center for adouble that caromed off Aaron Rowand, who dove for the ball.

Moyer then walked Renteria on four pitches. After Chipper Jonespopped out, Mark Teixeira drove a 2-2 pitch over the centerfield fence for a three-run home run to give the Braves a 3-1lead.


Teixeira's 15th homer came after he took a couple of closepitches during the at-bat.


Jimmy Rollins answered for Philadelphia in the bottom half ofthe first, hitting a 2-2 pitch from Atlanta starter Chuck Jamesinto the left-center field seats for his 30th home run of theseason to cut the deficit to 3-1.


Rollins hit his ninth leadoff homer of the season and 26thcareer. He also joined Bobby Abreu as the only Phillies playersto have 30 home runs and 30 steals in a season.


Atlanta used a two-out rally in the fourth to increase itsmargin to 4-1. Andruw Jones lined a double down the left fieldline and came around to score on a single by Brian McCann.

The Phillies erupted in their half of the frame to tie thescore. James had retired 10 in a row before Pat Burrell drew aone-out walk. Ryan Howard then blasted a 2-0 pitch into thePhillies bullpen in right-center for his 43rd home run to pullPhiladelphia within 4-3.


After Rowand struck out, Jayson Werth hit a 3-2 pitch over theleft-center field wall for his eighth homer to tie the game,4-4.


James was removed after Werth's blast in favor of Bennett, whogot out of the inning.


James went 3 2/3 innings and allowed four runs on three hits,all three of which were home runs. The lefthander walked oneand struck out six.


Burrell gave Philadelphia a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning with asacrifice fly.


Moyer pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up six runs on six hits withthree walks and four strikeouts.

 

Braves club Phillies, inch closer in wild card race

<h3>ATLANTA 10, PHILADELPHIA 6</h3>By Vince DiGregorio
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) - Somebody forgot to tell the NationalLeague that the Atlanta Braves are part of the wild card race.

Atlanta scored four runs in the sixth inning and went on to beatthe Philadelphia Phillies, 10-6, in the opener of a crucialthree-game series at Citizens Bank Park.


The Braves (83-74) won for the eighth time in their last ninegames and moved within 2 1/2 games of the San Diego Padres(85-71) for the NL wild card. The Phillies (85-72) fell ahalf-game behind San Diego.


"We have to win, we know that," Braves manager Bobby Cox said."We're gonna give it our best shot and keep plugging."

With Atlanta trailing, 5-4, Jeff Francoeur opened the sixth witha double and scored on Andruw Jones' bloop single to shallowcenter to tie the game at 5-5. One out later, Geoff Gearyreplaced Phillies starter Jamie Moyer, but Matt Diaz groundedhis first pitch for an RBI single to center, giving the Braves a6-5 lead.


"Everybody was kind of involved tonight," Francoeur said. "Wehave to win every game on this road trip."


One out later, Yunel Escobar doubled to put runners on secondand third. Edgar Renteria followed with a two-run single toright to give Atlanta an 8-5 advantage.


"(Renteria) will shoot the ball to right with the best of them,"Cox said. "He's just a professional hitter like we've alwaysthought when we first traded for him. He's always been a toughout and a great RBI guy, always."


Philadelphia's Chase Utley hit his 22nd home run in the seventhto cut the deficit to 8-6, but Chipper Jones blasted a two-runhome run off Tom Gordon in the ninth to make it 10-6.

"We couldn't score any more runs and we couldn't hold them,"Utley said.


Jones' 28th homer went off the facing of the second deck inright field.


"We want to try and make it as tough on (the other teams) asmuch as possible," Jones said. "Put as much pressure on people.We got Huddy (Tim Hudson) and Smoltzie (John Smoltz) going thenext two games.


"We'll give ourselves the best opportunity to get back in thisthing. Anything can happen. We still have faint hopes of theplayoffs. We have five games left."


Jeff Bennett (2-0) got the win in relief for Atlanta andcombined with four other relievers to limit the Phillies tworuns on three hits. Moyer (13-12) took the loss forPhiladelphia.


"I thought maybe if we'd hold them, we'd come back in theninth," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.


Moyer seemed to be battling a small strike zone by home plateumpire C.B. Bucknor at the start of the game. Moyer fell behindEscobar 3-0 before Escobar hit a low liner to center for adouble that caromed off Aaron Rowand, who dove for the ball.

Moyer then walked Renteria on four pitches. After Chipper Jonespopped out, Mark Teixeira drove a 2-2 pitch over the centerfield fence for a three-run home run to give the Braves a 3-0lead.


"It's always big to get out front," Teixeira said. "If you canget out to a lead early in the game, it helps your pitcher andit helps the rest of the team."


Teixeira's 15th homer came after he took a couple of closepitches during the at-bat.


"No one puts a lot of pressure on themselves here," Teixeirasaid. "We have such a good lineup. No one feels like they haveto carry the load."


Jimmy Rollins answered for Philadelphia in the bottom half ofthe first, hitting a 2-2 pitch from Atlanta starter Chuck Jamesinto the left-center field seats for his 30th home run of theseason to cut the deficit to 3-1.


Rollins hit his ninth leadoff homer of the season and 26thcareer. He also joined Bobby Abreu as the only Phillies playersto have 30 home runs and 30 steals in a season.


Atlanta used a two-out rally in the fourth to increase itsmargin to 4-1. Andruw Jones lined a double down the left fieldline and came around to score on a single by Brian McCann.

The Phillies erupted in their half of the frame to tie thescore. James had retired 10 in a row before Pat Burrell drew aone-out walk. Ryan Howard then blasted a 2-0 pitch into thePhillies bullpen in right-center for his 43rd home run to pullPhiladelphia within 4-3.


After Rowand struck out, Jayson Werth hit a 3-2 pitch over theleft-center field wall for his eighth homer to tie the game,4-4.


James was removed after Werth's blast in favor of Bennett, whogot out of the inning.


"In this ballpark, the ball goes," Cox said. "There weren't toomany cheap ones hit tonight. ( James) just got in a rut withcertain pitches and ... boom."


James went 3 2/3 innings and allowed four runs on three hits,all three of which were home runs. The lefthander walked oneand struck out six.


"I just couldn't get the pitches down," James said. "Threepitches kind of cost me."


Burrell gave Philadelphia a 5-4 lead in the fifth inning with asacrifice fly.


Moyer pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up six runs on six hits withthree walks and four strikeouts.