Good starts in games usually help relax things a bit.  The Phillies got off to a good start again in this one as Jayson Werth hit a double off the center field wall to plate Chase Utley with the games first run.  Werth advanced to third when the Atlanta centefielder bobbled the ball.  Ryan Howard then drove Werth home with a sacrifice fly to left field.  This gave Cole Hamels a two run lead before even throwing a pitch!   Atlanta answered back in the bottom of the first however as Brian McCann doubled off the wall to score Chipper Jones who had walked.   Casey Kotchman tied the game in the second inning with a solo home run. 

Pat Burrell hit a two run bomb in the sixth inning that scored Jayson Werth ahead of him.  Werth had reached on an error.   Cole Hamels struggled with his control but managed to pitch six innings and left the game with a two run lead.  Hamels was high with most of his pitches but was able to make key pitches when he needed them, it was a gutty effort by the young ace.

Ryan Madson pitched the seventh inning and some shaky fielding allowed Atlanta to score an unearned run.  Both Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins committed errors that gave the Braves five outs in the inning.  Rollins error was actually a fly ball that Pat Burrell should have called him off on but did not, Rollins went deep into left field and attempted an over the should catch that fell out of his glove.   Howard’s error was later changed by the official scorer to a hit for Kelly Johnson, it extended Johnson’s hitting streak to 16 games but it was a pretty weak change of heart to be honest! Howard botched an easy ground ball and Johnson should have been out.

J.C. Romero pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Phillies.  Brad Lidge pitched a perfect ninth inning to close the game striking out two batters.  He earned his 38th save in 38 tries.  The Phillies improved to 78 and 0 when leading after eight innings.  They swept all nine games played in Atlanta this year, first time Braves were swept at home by Phils since 1909!

Chatter

Chipper Jones and Brian McCann are really the only two hitters in the Atlanta lineup that scare anybody at the moment.  It is a far cry from the Braves heydays when they dominated the division.  Despite being in a deep slump Pat Burrell remained in the lineup,  I think one of the things players appreciate most about skipper Charlie Manuel is the fact that he shows confidence in guys both when they are going good or bad.  That trust paid off as Burrell blasted career home run # 250 in the sixth inning.  Earlier in the year Ryan Howard could not hit dirt and now he is on an MVP pace, baseball messes with ya that way !

The Brewers lost earlier in the day to the Cubs, good and bad news for the Fightins.  Good that Milwaukee lost but bad that the Cubs magic number is down to 2 to clinch the central division.  The Cubs play the Mets next and one has to wonder if they rest a few folks after they clinch. 

Question to Ponder

Atlanta’s John Smoltz is a free agent next season, what about Mr. Smoltz in Phillies pinstripes in 2009 ?