Post by SID on Sept 23, 2005 8:41:26 GMT -5
PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Phillies have shifted their focus from the wild-card race toward catching first-place Atlanta.
Reserve infielder Ramon Martinez hit his first career grand slam, leading Philadelphia to a 12-4 victory over the Braves on Wednesday night.
Andruw Jones provided the lone bright spot for Atlanta by hitting his 50th homer, becoming the first major leaguer to reach that mark since Alex Rodriguez (57) and Jim Thome (52) in 2002.
“I don’t really enjoy too much with a loss,” Jones said.
The Phillies moved into a tie with Florida for first place in the NL wild-card standings, and closed within five games of NL East-leading Atlanta with their third straight win over the Braves. They’ve won five of six overall since Houston swept a three-game series in Philadelphia last week.
With Brett Myers pitching against the Braves on Thursday and three more games in Atlanta next week, the Phillies are back in the division race after starting the week eight games out.
“That’s definitely on our minds,” said Cory Lidle, who pitched five effective innings for the win.
Jones connected for his 300th career homer off Geoff Geary in the eighth inning, hitting a solo shot into the second deck in left field. The 28-year-old center fielder became the 12th player in major league history to hit 300 homers before his 30th birthday.
“If Andruw is going to hit one like that when we’re up nine runs, I kind of enjoyed watching it,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said of the 438-foot drive. “It was worth following.”
Jimmy Rollins had three hits, extending his career-best hitting streak to 20 games. Jason Michaels homered and drove in three runs, and David Bell also had three hits for Philadelphia.
Lidle (11-10) allowed three runs and seven hits to win his second straight start since coming off the disabled list.
Consecutive singles by Bell and Mike Lieberthal loaded the bases with one out in the third inning against Horacio Ramirez (11-9). Martinez followed with a liner into the left-field seats for his first homer this season, giving the Phillies a 7-0 lead.
Martinez started at first base for Ryan Howard, a left-handed hitter who had the night off against the left-handed Ramirez. Howard hit nine homers in the previous 19 games, but Manuel still kept him out of the lineup. Martinez made the often-criticized Manuel look like a genius.
“That’s the thing about utility guys, whenever you get a chance you try to contribute,” Martinez said, adding he was surprised to get the start.
Ramirez allowed seven runs — six earned — and eight hits in three innings in his shortest outing of the season and worst since giving up eight runs in five innings against Cincinnati on Aug. 3.
“It was a rough night for Ramirez,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said. “The grand slam hurt us.”
Philadelphia scored three times in the first with help from Atlanta’s defense and a few lucky bounces.
Rollins doubled leading off the inning. After Michaels struck out, Rollins stole third and scored on Bobby Abreu’s infield single up the middle.
Pat Burrell followed with another infield single to second base and Chase Utley reached when second baseman Marcus Giles made an errant flip to second while trying to turn a double play.
Bell hit an RBI single to left, and Lieberthal had a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.
Notes: Jones had never hit more than 36 homers in a season, reaching that mark in 2000 and 2003. ... Rollins is the 16th Phillies player since 1900 to have a hitting streak of 20 games. The longest was 26 games by Chuck Klein in 1930. ... Martinez tied a career high with four RBIs. He did it with San Francisco against the Dodgers in 2002. ... The Phillies have seven slams this season, one short of the team record set by the 1993 NL champions. ... Burrell walked four times and has a career-high 91 walks this season. ... 3B Chipper Jones was back in the lineup after not starting Tuesday night because of strained left quadriceps.
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Reserve infielder Ramon Martinez hit his first career grand slam, leading Philadelphia to a 12-4 victory over the Braves on Wednesday night.
Andruw Jones provided the lone bright spot for Atlanta by hitting his 50th homer, becoming the first major leaguer to reach that mark since Alex Rodriguez (57) and Jim Thome (52) in 2002.
“I don’t really enjoy too much with a loss,” Jones said.
The Phillies moved into a tie with Florida for first place in the NL wild-card standings, and closed within five games of NL East-leading Atlanta with their third straight win over the Braves. They’ve won five of six overall since Houston swept a three-game series in Philadelphia last week.
With Brett Myers pitching against the Braves on Thursday and three more games in Atlanta next week, the Phillies are back in the division race after starting the week eight games out.
“That’s definitely on our minds,” said Cory Lidle, who pitched five effective innings for the win.
Jones connected for his 300th career homer off Geoff Geary in the eighth inning, hitting a solo shot into the second deck in left field. The 28-year-old center fielder became the 12th player in major league history to hit 300 homers before his 30th birthday.
“If Andruw is going to hit one like that when we’re up nine runs, I kind of enjoyed watching it,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said of the 438-foot drive. “It was worth following.”
Jimmy Rollins had three hits, extending his career-best hitting streak to 20 games. Jason Michaels homered and drove in three runs, and David Bell also had three hits for Philadelphia.
Lidle (11-10) allowed three runs and seven hits to win his second straight start since coming off the disabled list.
Consecutive singles by Bell and Mike Lieberthal loaded the bases with one out in the third inning against Horacio Ramirez (11-9). Martinez followed with a liner into the left-field seats for his first homer this season, giving the Phillies a 7-0 lead.
Martinez started at first base for Ryan Howard, a left-handed hitter who had the night off against the left-handed Ramirez. Howard hit nine homers in the previous 19 games, but Manuel still kept him out of the lineup. Martinez made the often-criticized Manuel look like a genius.
“That’s the thing about utility guys, whenever you get a chance you try to contribute,” Martinez said, adding he was surprised to get the start.
Ramirez allowed seven runs — six earned — and eight hits in three innings in his shortest outing of the season and worst since giving up eight runs in five innings against Cincinnati on Aug. 3.
“It was a rough night for Ramirez,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said. “The grand slam hurt us.”
Philadelphia scored three times in the first with help from Atlanta’s defense and a few lucky bounces.
Rollins doubled leading off the inning. After Michaels struck out, Rollins stole third and scored on Bobby Abreu’s infield single up the middle.
Pat Burrell followed with another infield single to second base and Chase Utley reached when second baseman Marcus Giles made an errant flip to second while trying to turn a double play.
Bell hit an RBI single to left, and Lieberthal had a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.
Notes: Jones had never hit more than 36 homers in a season, reaching that mark in 2000 and 2003. ... Rollins is the 16th Phillies player since 1900 to have a hitting streak of 20 games. The longest was 26 games by Chuck Klein in 1930. ... Martinez tied a career high with four RBIs. He did it with San Francisco against the Dodgers in 2002. ... The Phillies have seven slams this season, one short of the team record set by the 1993 NL champions. ... Burrell walked four times and has a career-high 91 walks this season. ... 3B Chipper Jones was back in the lineup after not starting Tuesday night because of strained left quadriceps.
msnbc.msn.com/id/9346133/