Final: Phillies 5, Braves 1
WP: Aaron Harang (3-2, 2.35 ERA) LP: Alex Wood (1-2, 4.32 ERA)
Atlanta, GA – With Aaron Harang on the mound, the Philadelphia Phillies (10-17) opened a three-game set against their division-rival Atlanta Braves (12-14) Monday evening.
The Phillies jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Two batters after left fielder Ben Revere led off the game with a single, first baseman Darin Ruf reached base with a two-out knock to put runners on the corners for right fielder Jeff Francoeur, who was hitless in his previous 19 at-bats. The 31-year-old, Atlanta, Georgia-native followed with his fourth double of the season, which scored Revere and advanced Ruf to second.
Francoeur was the 23rd overall pick by his hometown team in the 2002 amateur draft, six selections after the Phillies drafted Cole Hamels. He played with Atlanta from 2005 up until July 10, 2009, when he was traded to the New York Mets for outfielder Ryan Church.
The next batter, third baseman Cesar Hernandez, walked to load the bases for catcher Carlos Ruiz. Ruiz, who had just one run-batted-in over 62 at-bats heading into tonight, tripled his run production by scoring Ruf and Francoeur to give his team an early three-run advantage.
Braves' starter Alex Wood was pulled with one recorded out in the fourth inning, after he allowed his ninth hit of the night to the Phillies' offense. Right handed reliever Michael Kohn allowed a walk to Hernandez, his third of the night, but got out of the inning when Ruiz grounded into a double play.
Atlanta remained out of the run column against Harang until the bottom of the sixth inning. First baseman Freddie Freeman singled to center field to score shortstop Andrelton Simmons from third, who tripled for the second time this season in the previous at-bat. Phillies' center fielder Odubel Herrera made a great catch at the wall for the final out of the inning, which likely saved a run from scoring to make it a one-run game.
The next half-inning in the top of the seventh, the Phillies regained a three-run lead. With two outs, after second baseman Chase Utley was hit by a pitch earlier in the inning and was standing on first, Francoeur picked up his third hit of the night to put runners on the corners. Hernandez then hit a RBI-single for his first hit of the night to give the Phils' a 4-1 lead.
Harang's night would be over after six innings of work. He allowed just one earned run on five hits and one walk to yield a 1.00 WHIP. His previous outing against the Braves this season was back on April 24 at Citizens Bank Park, where he threw eight shutout innings. Harang has lasted at least six innings in each of his six starts this season, with five of them being quality starts.
The Phillies tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth to put the game out of a save situation for closer Jonathan Papelbon. Francoeur tripled for his fourth hit of the night to score Ruf. He was just a home run shy of the cycle, and had seven total bases.
According to Braves reporter Grant McAuley, Francoeur's last four-hit game was on May 20, 2012 as a member of the Kansas City Royals.
Herrera's 18-game streak of reaching base safely, which started on April 15, ended tonight as he went 0-5 with three strikeouts, leaving four men on base. This was the longest streak by a Phillies' rookie since Ruf reached base safely in 24 consecutive games from 7/6/13 to 8/6/13.
Starting Pitchers
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Harang | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.35 |
| Alex Wood | 4.1 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4.32 |
- Harang: W; 93 pitches, 57 strikes; 4 groundouts, 6 flyouts; 23 faced batters
- Wood: L; 90 pitches, 57 strikes; 5 groundouts, 1 flyouts; 23 faced batters
Out of the 'Pen
Phillies
- Jake Diekman (7th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 8.44 ERA
- Ken Giles (8th): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 0.73 ERA
- Jonathan Papelbon (9th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 1.59 ERA
Braves
- Michael Kohn (5th): 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
- Donnie Veal (6th, 7th): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 10.80 ERA
- Trevor Cahill (7th): 0.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 9.00 ERA
- Luis Avilan (8th): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR, 3.86 ERA
- Jim Johnson (9th): 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR, 4.05 ERA
NL East Standings
| W | L | GB | L10 | Streak | Home | Road | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Mets | 16 | 10 | - | 3-7 | L2 | 11-3 | 5-7 |
| Washington Nationals | 13 | 14 | 3.5 | 6-4 | W3 | 6-7 | 7-9 |
| Miami Marlins | 12 | 14 | 4 | 7-3 | L2 | 8-7 | 4-7 |
| Atlanta Braves | 12 | 14 | 4 | 4-6 | L1 | 6-8 | 6-6 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 10 | 17 | 6.5 | 4-6 | W2 | 6-6 | 4-11 |
What's Next
Tuesday, May 5, 2015: at Atlanta Braves, 7:10 pm
- RHP Chad Billingsley* vs. RHP Shelby Miller (3-1, 2.17 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, SBP 1480 (Sp.)
* First start since April 15, 2013 as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers
Wednesday, May 6, 2015: at Atlanta Braves, 7:10 pm
- RHP Jerome Williams (2-1, 4.08 ERA) vs. RHP Mike Foltynewicz (1-0, 3.60 ERA)
- TV: CSN; Radio: 94 WIP, 1210 WPHT, SBP 1480 (Sp.)
Matt Rappa (@mattrappa) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com.
