Atlanta Braves batter Philadelphia Phillies in series finale

The rubber game of the Atlanta Braves series with the Philadelphia Phillies went almost exactly as Braves fans would have planned. I say almost because the Phillies did manage to score first in the game. That would be the only time, however, as the Braves rattled off hits in a runaway victory by the final score of 8-2.

Alex Wood was stunning in his effort against the Phillies. Alex went six innings giving up only three hits and a run. The run was a solo homer by Mayberry in the 2nd inning. Other than that mistake, Alex put on his game-face while notching eight strikeouts on the day. The Braves did their part by putting crooked numbers on the board in three different innings. In the second, Chris Johnson homered and drove in Justin Upton. In the third inning, Jason Heyward walked with the bases loaded, then Tommy La Stella smashed a double to deep right center that cleared the bases. In the sixth, Andrelton Simmons walked with the bases loaded again, and then Freddie Freeman blooped a single to make the score 8-1 in favor of the Braves.

In the middle of all this, the game was delayed for about an hour and a half due to rain. I guarantee that the Phillies would have rather forfeited than take the field again. I was certainly ready to call it a day, and I was sitting at home watching it on my TV, not in a rain-soaked dugout. The major problem for the Phillies was their pitching staff kept giving up walks. After seven walks in the game, the Braves were just waiting for the Phillies pitchers to put a get-over fastball in the zone and then blast it around the yard. The entire Braves starting lineup touched base during the game, and the Phillies staff gave up so many free passes that the Braves actually scored eight runs on eight hits. It’s not often that you see a team score that many runs as hits, but it happened on Sunday.

David Hale came in after Wood for a couple innings of mop-up relief. Hale breezed through the seventh inning before running into some trouble in the eighth. Hale gave up three straight singles that loaded the bases, but he was able to induce a come-backer for a quit 1-2-3 double play that killed the threat. David Carpenter came on for the ninth inning, and immediately gave up a solo homer to Marlon Byrd. That cut the lead to “just” six runs, and served only to tick off an already bedraggled crowd that remained. In the end, Carpenter got out of the inning, and the Braves got their 54th win.

The MVP of the game goes to Tommy La Stella, who went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI, and La Stella’s 2-out double broke the game open for the Braves. If he is retired there, the Braves go into the dugout only up 3-1. His clutch double lengthened the margin to five, and mentally put the Phillies on the airplane home. Alex Wood gets an honorable mention nod, but the rain delay cut down his change to go really deep in the game. The good news is that Alex got the win, and the Braves find themselves tied again for first place in the division.

Next up, the Marlins come to Atlanta. What’s that smell? It’s the stinky fish. Hopefully, the Braves can toss them back in the ocean on Monday.