Game Recap:
Ryan Howard's two home runs did the damage for the Phils, who moved six games up on the Braves with the win.
What went right?
Jimmy Rollins was 1-4 and scored a run.
Shane Victorino went 2-4 and scored a run.
Ryan Howard went 3-3, scored twice and had two home runs; a solo shot in the second inning, and a three run blast in the sixth.
J.A. Happ wasn't his best, but he still allowed just one run in 7.2 innings on three hits. He walked six and struck out three.
The bullpen combination of Ryan Madson, Scott Eyre and Brad Lidge held the Braves to a single hit and a walk in the remaining 1.1 innings.
What went wrong?
Aside from Howard, Rollins and Victorino, the Phillies managed just one hit and struck out seven times.
Game Analysis:
This was the most important game of the week for the Phillies. With a win, they would go to six games up on the Braves and push them just a little further into their National League East grave. A loss would have put the Braves at just four games back, and moved the Marlins even closer, giving both teams more life than the Phillies would want to deal with. What they got was not only a win, but hopefully a declaration on how the rest of the season is going to go.
Even though he didn't have his best command last night, J.A. Happ continued to show why he is one of, if not the, top candidate for Rookie of the Year. He held the Braves to just three hits and one run over almost eight innings of work and ran his record to 9-2 on the season. It's been great to see Happ pitch this year, especially since he's picked up the slack that Cole Hamels has left behind. Without Happ in this rotation, I don't even want to know where the Phillies would be right now.
The best part about last night was Ryan Howard going off again. His two home runs last night give him 30 on the season, and four in his last four games. Before this stretch, the big man had gone the entire month of August without a homer, and now it looks like he might be ready to embark on another late season run. With Shane and Jimmy continuing to get on base, the RBI chances will be there for the middle of the lineup. If Chase, Raul and Jayson can start to warm up again, there isn't a team in baseball that can match the heart of the order for the Phils.
All in all, it was a good series against the Braves. Aside from one disastrous ninth inning on Saturday, the Phillies dominated Atlanta in all three games. Sure, the games were low scoring and close, but you never felt like the Phillies were in any real danger of losing any of those games until the Braves had the bases loaded with no one out in the ninth inning on Saturday. If the Phillies can keep this up, it's only going to be a matter of when, not if, they claim their third straight NL East crown.
Tomorrow, the Phils return home to take on Arizona. Pedro Martinez (1-0, 5.40 ERA) makes his home debut against Jon Garland (6-10, 4.28 ERA).
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