The Phillies (43-40) lost to the Atlanta Braves last night by a score of 7-5 and in the process lost their seventh game in 10 tries.
It was a back-and-forth affair at Citizens Bank Park as the Braves scored the first run of the game in the top of the first when Martin Prado hit his first of two home runs. It was Prado's second multi home-run game of his career and it was his second blast in the sixth inning that ruined Jamie Moyer's night.
Following that Prado home run, Moyer allowed five straight Braves to reach base and gave up six runs in the inning.The poor outing for Moyer ended a stellar stretch for the 47-year-old as last night Moyer went 5.1 innings and allowed seven hits and seven earned runs and gave up three home runs.
The Braves are now 7-5 against the Phillies. Atlanta has only lost one series since losing two out of three to the Phillies back in May.
Gaining a three game lead on the New York Mets was no easy task for the Braves as they struggled at the onset of the season and have since righted the ship thanks to better than average pitching depth and the resurgence of Billy Wagner at closer who picked up his 19th save of the season last night.
The Braves have also been lifted by the surprising play of Troy Glaus and rookie Jason Heyward (who is currently injured with a hurt left thumb). Not to mention the man of the evening, Martin Prado who has emerged as an all-star second baseman for the team as he has 10 home runs on the season, one shy of his career high.
Back to the foundering Phils, this is a team that hasn't won consecutive games in 12 days and went 2-9 with runners in scoring position last night.
The Phillies are having a lot of problems putting all the parts together, when they score, the pitching isn't good and when the bats show up, the arms don't.
Everyone knows about the Phillies second half pedigree and how hot they usually get and what their record is in September in recent seasons. But in the last couple of years, the teams the Phillies were chasing or in front of, couldn't wait to collapse. This Braves team aren't those Mets teams of years past.
I'm concerned about what this Braves team can do, because of what they've done with players out and players not playing up to potential at this point in time.
I've already mentioned the injured Heyward, future Hall-of-Famer Chipper Jones is only hitting .253 and hasn't had a month this season that he's hit over .265. Then there's the hyped future ace of the Braves rotation, Tommy Hansen, who's seen some struggles this season as well. After starting the season with an ERA of 2.17 in his first five starts, his ERA has gone up dramatically to 5.25 since then.
Imagine how scary the Braves could be when those problems are corrected, given what they're doing right now.
Is it time to worry, no, but I think anyone underestimating the Braves better take a second look after this series.
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