Atlanta @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( May 8, 2010 ) Atlanta 4, Philadelphia 1
The Atlanta Braves finally got a few hits Saturday. Stringing together enough to win two straight games against the best team in the division will be a bigger test.
The Braves will be attempting to clinch a series win when they close out a three-game set against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.
Atlanta was shut out in the series opener Friday, managing just two hits as Jamie Moyer, 47, became the oldest player in major league history to toss a shutout. The loss was less a statement of Moyer's impressive career than an indictment of a Braves offense that had lost its way.
Chipper Jones, Troy Glaus, Brian McCann, Nate McLouth and Melky Cabrera were all struggling to hit more than .240, and the team was playing without its best offensive weapon in rookie Jason Heyward, who is day-to-day with a groin strain.
Joe Blanton took advantage of those struggles early Saturday as well, carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning. But Atlanta finally broke out of it in the sixth, plating three runs as Jones, McCann and Cabrera all played a part in the rally.
Glaus even got into the act in the contest, singling in a run in the ninth to cap the 4-1 victory.
The middle of the order coming around could help make the difference for an offense that is still not at full strength with Yunel Escobar on the disabled list and Heyward, who leads the team with eight homers and 26 RBIs, likely to be limited to pinch-hitting duties for the rest of the weekend.
The Phillies will send embattled former ace Cole Hamels to the mound in the finale. The left-hander, who has had his ups and downs with the Philadelphia fans over the past two seasons, seemed to be winning over the crowd in his last start before one unruly patron decided it might be fun to run on the field.
The fan was then tasered by field security - an act that sparked media debate this week over the use of force at a baseball game.
But all that did to Hamels was force him to wait a little bit longer to pitch, knocking him out of a rhythm in the top of the ninth. Hamels gave up back-to-back doubles to lose his shutout bid. The Phillies went on to win in 10 innings but Hamels did not factor in the decision.
The near-shutout followed a two-start stretch in which Hamels combined to allow 10 runs and 17 hits in 12 innings.
He has handled the Braves well in the past, owning a career 7-4 record with a 3.96 ERA in 14 starts. McCann and Jones have had the most success against Hamels, combining to go 20-for-52 with three home runs.
The Braves will counter with struggling right-hander Kenshin Kawakami, who has lost all five of his starts this season. The Japanese hurler has yet to make it past the sixth inning and has yielded 31 hits in 26 1/3 total innings.
Kawakami made a pair of starts against Philadelphia in 2009, going 1-0 with a 3.65 ERA and seven strikeouts in 12 1/3 frames.