Heading into tonight's game, the Phillies (73-87) were hoping to finish the disappointing 2014 campaign on a good note as they welcomed their struggling NL East foe, the Atlanta Braves (77-83), to town for the final series of the season. Both teams have endured plenty of difficulties this season, but Atlanta came in with much higher expectations than the Phillies when we kicked things off in April. With names like Heyward, Freeman, Justin Upton on offense and Teheran, Santana in the rotation, the Braves were thought to be contenders for the division with the Nationals, but injuries and offensive inconsistency plagued them as the season drew on. Tonight, the Phillies waiver wire pickup, Jerome Williams, was hoping to put in one last good outing for the Phils while Ervin Santana took the mound for Atlanta, posting a 3-1 record this season against the Phillies.
The Game: The Braves jumped on Jerome Williams early. Phil Gosselin led off with an infield single. Ramiro Pena followed with a double to left, moving Gosselin to third on the play. Freddie Freeman hit an RBI groundout to score Gosselin, making it 1-0. Justin Upton drove in Pena with a single to right center, giving the Braves a 2-0 lead at the end of the first.
Jason Heyward doubled to lead off the fourth. Two batters later, Chris Johnson ripped a two-run homer to left, giving Atlanta a commanding 4-0 lead.
The Phillies would chip away though. In the bottom of the fifth Cody Asche and Freddy Galvis started things off with back-to-back singles. After a Jerome Williams bunt moved the runners over, Ben Revere bounced into an RBI fielders choice, scoring Asche. 4-1 Braves.
Jerome Williams had a big shutdown inning, retiring the Braves 1-2-3 in the sixth. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard made two quick outs in the bottom of the sixth, but Marlon Byrd kept things alive with a single. Dom Brown followed with a single of his own. Up next was Cody Asche and he smacked a double to right, scoring Byrd from second, cutting the lead to 4-2. Freddy Galvis hit a slow bouncer to third next and Ervin Santana attempted to throw it home but Dom Brown evaded the tag attempt by Christian Bethancourt, making it a 4-3 game. Grady Sizemore was chosen to pinch hit for Williams and watched a wild pitch go by, good enough to score Asche and tie things at four a piece.
In the bottom of the seventh, Carlos Ruiz led off with a walk and two hitters later, Ryan Howard duobled, moving Ruiz to third. Marlon Byrd tapped a grounder to second, scoring Ruiz, giving the Phillies a 5-4 lead.
Ken Giles came in and gave up a single to Freddie Freeman but retired Upton, Heyward and Bethancourt, setting things up for Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth. The Phillies closer, to no one's avail, was showered with boo's upon his entry to the field. Paps got Chris Johnson to strike out before allowing B.J. Upton to reach on a double. Evan Gattis came on to pinch hit, but grounded out to third and Papelbon got Joey Terdoslavich to ground out to Chase Utley, ending the game with his 39th save.
Notable Offensive Statistics:
- Cody Asche: 2-4, 2B, 2 R, RBI 2 K's
- Freddy Galvis: 2-4, RBI
- Marlon Byrd: 1-4, R, RBI
- Chris Johnson (ATL): 1-4, HR (10), R, 2 RBI
Impact: The Phillies beat the Braves for just the second time this season at home. After falling behind 4-0, things didn't look good for the Phillies. It was good to see the offense fight back, behind Galvis and Asche, who could play a part in the Phillies future. Williams wasn't extremely sharp, falling suspect to two bad innings. His final line: 6IP, 8H, 4ER, BB, 3K. The win in this one goes to Luis Garcia, Ken Giles tallied his 13th hold of the year and Jonathan Papelbon earned his 39th save.
Up Next: The Phils and Braves continue their season ending series tomorrow night at 7:05pm. AJ Burnett (8-17, 4.57) gets the ball looking to finish the season with a strong start while the Braves will go with fellow veteran right-hander, Aaron Harang (11-12, 3.60).
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
