Atlanta Braves Take Down the Phillies

The Atlanta Braves welcomed the Philadelphia Phillies to Turner Field Wednesday night for the final meeting of a three game series. The Phillies won the first game, while Atlanta grabbed game two thanks to a 9 run outburst and Shelby Miller’s complete game shutout.

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The unlucky soul tasked with following Miller’s gem was Braves rookie Mike Foltynewicz. Andrelton Simmons would give Foltynewicz an early lead by blasting a solo homerun off of Philadelphia starting pitcher Jerome Williams in the bottom of the 1^st inning.

The Phillies evened the score at 1-1 in the top of the 3^rd inning when Ben Revere scored on a fielder’s choice and eventually turned into an inning ending double-play.

Atlanta would take back the lead in the bottom of the 4^th inning. After doubling for his second hit of the game, Simmons would score on a bloop double down the leftfield line from Freddie Freeman. An Alberto Callaspo single had the Braves threatening with only one out, but Christian Bethancourt grounded into a double-play to end the inning. After four innings, the Braves held a 2-1 lead.

The Braves got their bats going again in the bottom of the 5^th inning. Jace Peterson and Cameron Maybin led off the inning with back to back singles to put runners on the corners. After Maybin advanced to second base on a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly from Folty brought home Peterson and sent Maybin to third. Maybin then scored on a Nick Markakis single. After Simba’s third hit of the game, a single, Freddie Freeman would make the score 6-1 Braves, by ripping a two-run double down the rightfield line.

Ryan Howard led off the top of the 6^th inning with a solo homerun. The noted Braves killer would have been worth every penny of his massive contract, had all 162 games every season come against Atlanta. Later in the inning, the Phillies scored another run on a Jeff Francoeur single, off of Cody Martin, cutting the Braves lead to 6-3. Ben Revere’s double off of Luis Avilan scored another run for the Phillies, shrinking Atlanta’s lead to 6-4.

However, Atlanta’s offensive onslaught was not finished. In the bottom of the 6^th, an RBI double from Markakis stretched the lead back out to 7-4. A little breathing room is always appreciated.

Timothy Miller sang God Bless America which is always breathtaking in person. Timothy is the real MVP. If you’ve never been to a Braves game go on a night celebrating the military so you can make sure you here this man do his thing.

Jason Grilli nailed down the save in the top of the 9^th inning securing a 7-5 Braves victory (though it was a bit scary as he allowed 1 run on 2 hits and a walk). It was a relatively offensive game with the Braves and Phillies each recording 12 hits. Atlanta went 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position and slugged five extra base hits.

Folty turned in another solid outing in his second appearance as a Brave. He lasted 5 and 1/3 innings allowing 4 runs on 7 hits while striking out 7. Had the bullpen helped him out a bit, his line would have looked slightly better. He threw 101 pitches, 66 strikes, and also walked 3 batters. As usual, he lived in the mid to high 90’s with his fastball and his slider was downright nasty at times. If he can ever truly command his fastball, the Braves may have an ace on their hands at some point in the future.

The win brings the Braves back to .500 with a 14-14 record. The Phillies fell to 10-19.

The Braves have Thursday off before traveling to our nation’s capital to take on the Washington Nationals for a three game series over the weekend. Friday night sends Eric Stults to the mound against Nats left-hander Gio Gonzalez. The quest to get over .500 begins!

Notable Performers

Nick Markakis: 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI 1 2B,

Andrelton Simmons: 3-for-4, 3 R, 1 RBI 1 2B, 1 HR,

Freddie Freeman: 3-for-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI

Jace Peterson: 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 BB

(W) Mike Foltynewicz: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 7 K, 3 BB

(S) Jason Grilli: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R,

Next: The Strange Splits of Andrelton Simmons

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