Atlanta @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 20, 2010 ) Atlanta 1, Philadelphia 3
The Atlanta Braves failed to get past Cole Hamels on Monday. Things don't figure to get much easier against Roy Halladay.
Halladay will try to push the Philadelphia Phillies' winning streak to a season-high nine games on Tuesday when they take on the Braves in the middle contest of a crucial three-game series at Citizens Bank Park.
After sweeping a three-game set with the New York Mets over the weekend, Atlanta entered its showdown with Philadelphia three games behind the Phillies in the NL East. The Braves also found themselves with the undaunting task of facing Hamels, Halladay and Roy Oswalt in succession with their hopes of a division title on the line.
Those hopes dwindled a bit thanks to Hamels, who posted his fifth consecutive victory. The left-hander yielded a run and three hits in the second inning but limited Atlanta to just three hits over the next six frames.
Hamels has allowed two earned runs over his last 39 2/3 innings.
The Phillies, who have won seven straight at home, took advantage of a pair of errors in the fifth inning to snap a tie and go on to their 22nd triumph in their last 27 against NL East opponents. Shane Victorino led off the frame with a fly ball that was misplayed by rookie right fielder Jason Heyward for a three-base error and scored on a groundout by Placido Polanco, giving Philadelphia a 2-1 edge.
Chase Utley followed with a single, stole second and moved to third on catcher Brian McCann's throwing error. After Eric O'Flaherty walked Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth to load the bases, Raul Ibanez hit a grounder to shortstop that allowed Utley to come home and make it 3-1.
With the victory, the Phillies improved to 16-3 in September and 42-15 since July 21. They increased their lead of the Braves to four games and reduced their magic number for a fourth straight division crown to eight.
Philadelphia, which has won 20 of its last 24 contests, became the first National League team to record 90 wins and trail the New York Yankees by one for most in the majors.
If their two previous meetings are any indication, Atlanta is in for more trouble against Halladay. The former Cy Young Award winner, who is looking to join CC Sabathia of the Yankees as the only 20-game winners in the majors, is 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA, two complete games and a shutout in two starts against the Braves this season.
Halladay tossed a five-hit shutout at Turner Field on April 21 and limited Atlanta to a run and five hits in a 3-1 complete-game victory on July 5. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 0.63 ERA in four career games - one relief appearance - against the Braves.
The 33-year-old has won three outings in a row and nine of his last 11. On Wednesday, he surrendered three runs and 10 hits in six innings of a 10-5 triumph at the Florida Marlins.
Halladay is 11-5 with a 2.12 ERA in 17 starts at home this year. He is striving to reach the 20-win plateau for the third time in his career and second in three seasons. If successful, Halladay will become the first Phillie to win 20 games since Hall of Famer Steve Carlton accomplished the feat in 1982.
The Phillies, who have outscored their opponents 50-20 during their eight-game winning streak, handed Brandon Beachy a loss in his major league debut Monday. They take on another rookie in Mike Minor on Tuesday.
Minor will be making his eighth career start and fourth on the road. In his previous three outings away from home, he is 1-0 despite a 6.75 ERA.
Over his last three starts overall, Minor is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA thanks to 14 runs allowed in 14 innings. The 22-year-old left-hander yielded four runs and four hits over five innings of a 4-2 loss to the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.
Atlanta, which had its four-game road winning streak snapped Monday, owns a two-game lead over the San Diego Padres in the race for the NL wild card.
The Braves' next victory will be the 2,500th in the career of manager Bobby Cox, who will be retiring at the end of the season.