Braves Beat Phillies, Take NL East Lead

Tommy Hanson pitched 6 and 2/3 strong innings to get his fifth win of the season, and Chipper Jones and Troy Glaus connected for a pair of homeruns, as the Braves beat        the Philadelphia Phillies 9-3 this afternoon in Atlanta.

Hanson (5-3) pitched 6 and 2/3 innings of three-hit, one-run ball to get his fifth win of the year, retiring 14 of the last 15 batters that he faced, while Jones, Glaus, Eric Hinske, and Yunel Escobar combined for seven hits and nine runs-batted-in as the Braves pounded Phillies’ pitching for 11 hits and nine runs in the lopsided win.

Philadelphia starter Joe Blanton was ripped for eight hits and six runs in six innings and took the loss for the Phillies.

The Braves scored three in the first and three in the third to jump out to an early 6-0 lead and never looked back as they cruised on to the easy 9-3 win.

The Phillies cut the lead to 6-3 with a three-run seventh inning, but the Braves quicky restored their six-run lead, going up 9-3 on a three-run blast by the hot-hitting Troy Glaus, who increased his National League leading May rbi total to 28 with the        three-run shot.

Jonny Venters pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning for the Braves, lowering his ERA to 0.89, and Jesse Chavez pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close out the game for Atlanta.

The win was the sixth straight win and 16th win in 20 games for the red-hot Braves, who improved to 29-22, and moved into first place in the NL East with the win, while the loss dropped the slumping Phillies to 28-22 and into second place in the NL East.

Braves Set To Take On Phillies

The Braves are all set to take on the Philadelphia Phillies in a three-game series that begins at 1:05 ET today with a Memorial Day matchup in Atlanta.

Tommy Hanson (4-3, 4.05 ERA) will start this afternoon’s series opener for the Braves and the Phillies will counter with Joe Blanton, who is 1-3 with a 5.63 ERA this season.

Atlanta ace Tim Hudson (5-1, 2.24 ERA) will start the second game of the series for the Braves on Tuesday night, and will be opposed by Philadelphia’s Cole Hamels, who is 5-3 with a 3.82 ERA this year.

And seven-game winner Derek Lowe (7-4, 4.85 ERA) will start Wednesday afternoon’s series finale for the Braves, while Kyle Kendrick (3-2, 5.04 ERA) will start the finale for  the Phillies.

It’s always a great series when these two NL East rivals collide, so be sure to come on out to the Ted this week and watch the Braves and Phillies play!

Braves Beat Pirates To Sweep Series

Kenshin Kawakami pitched 6 and 2/3 strong innings and Chipper Jones delivered a game winning pinch-hit single as the Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2 this afternoon in Atlanta.

Kawakami pitched 6 and 2/3 innings of four-hit, two-run ball and tossed six scoreless innings to open the game before tiring in the seventh, but was denied his first win of        the year when the Pirates scored two seventh inning runs to tie the game at 2-2.

The Braves jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the game, scoring on a first inning rbi sacrifice fly by Troy Glaus and a third inning solo shot by the hot-hitting Glaus, who increased his National League leading May rbi total to 25 with the solo blast, but the Pirates tied it in the seventh when Jeff Clement connected for a two-run homer.

Atlanta rallied to win the game in the bottom of the eighth, however, when Chipper Jones delivered what proved to be a game winning rbi-single and Jason Heyward followed with a two-run triple to extend the Braves’ lead to 5-2.

Eric O’Flaherty, Takashi Saito, and Billy Wagner combined to pitch 2 and 1/3 scoreless innings to close out the win for Atlanta, with Saito (1-2) picking up his first win of the    year and Wagner notching his seventh save of the season.

Pirates’ reliever Joel Hanrahan (1-1) gave up the game-winning hit to Jones and took the loss for Pittsburgh.

The win was the fifth straight win and 16th win in 20 games for the surging Braves, who improved to 28-22 with the win, while the loss dropped the slumping Pirates to 20-31.

Braves Rally To Beat Pirates

Jason Heyward blasted his 10th homerun of the season and the hot-hitting Martin Prado had two hits and three runs-batted-in as the Braves rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 on Saturday night in Atlanta.

Heyward and Prado combined for four hits and four runs-batted-in, with Heyward going 2-for-5 with a homerun and an rbi and Prado going 2-for-4 with three rbi’s, as they raised their batting averages to .298 and .324, respectively.

The Braves broke on top in the game, going up 1-0 on Heyward’s first inning solo blast, but the Pirates rallied to tie the game on a third inning solo shot by Andrew McCutchen, and then went ahead 3-1 when Pirates’ pitcher Brian Burres connected for a fourth inning two-run triple.

The Braves quickly responded with three runs of their own, however, as Troy Glaus delivered a fifth inning two-run double to tie the game, and Prado followed with a         sixth inning sacrifice fly to put Atlanta in front 4-3.

Prado struck again in the eighth inning, connecting for a two-run double to give the Braves a pair of insurance runs and a 6-3 lead.

Kris Medlen (2-1) pitched six solid inning to get his second win of the season for Atlanta, while Burres (2-3) took the loss for Pittsburgh.

The Braves’ bullpen was outstanding once again as Peter Moylan, Takashi Saito, and Billy Wagner combined to pitch three consecutive 1-2-3 innings to close out the game for Atlanta, with Wagner notching his sixth save of the season.

The win was the fourth straight win and the 15th win in 19 games for the red-hot Braves, who improved to 27-22 with the win, while the loss dropped the Pirates to 20-30.

Lowe Pitches Braves Past Pirates

Derek Lowe pitched seven strong innings to get his seventh win of the season and Chipper Jones and David Ross drove in three runs apiece as the Braves beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-3 on Friday night in Atlanta.

Lowe (7-4) pitched a gem, tossing seven innings of four-hit, one run ball at the Pirates as he ran his career record against Pittsburgh to 9-0.

In contrast, Pirates starter Zach Duke (3-5) was roughed up for 12 hits and seven runs in 5 and 1/3 innings pitched and took the loss for Pittsburgh.

The Braves jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the game and cruised on to the easy 7-3 win, scoring four times in the first inning, once in the second, and twice in the sixth to   win going away.

An rbi-single by Troy Glaus and a three-run double by Ross accounted for Atlanta’s four first inning runs, and Chipper followed up with an rbi-single in the second inning and a two-run double in the sixth.

Braves’ reliever Jonny Venters pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close out the game      for Atlanta, lowering his season ERA to a microscopic 0.95 in the process.

The win was the 13th win in 17 games for the surging Braves, who improved to 26-22   with the win, while the loss dropped the Pirates to 20-29.

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