CaPPiNg TiGeRz
09-04-2007, 10:00 AM
Philadelphia (72-65) at Atlanta (70-68)
Game Info: 7:35 pm EDT Tue Sep 4, 2007
The Philadelphia Phillies' play on their current road trip has not helped in their push for the NL East lead.
The Phillies look to avoid a fourth straight loss when they continue their series with the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on Tuesday.
Philadelphia (72-65) lost 5-1 to the Braves in Monday's opener, its third consecutive defeat since a six-game win streak that included a four-game sweep of the first-place New York Mets.
The loss dropped the second-place Phillies to five games back, while Atlanta (70-68) remains in third place, 7 1/2 behind the Mets. Philadelphia is 1-3 on its six-game trip.
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"We've got to find a way to recreate some momentum here and turn this into a respectable trip," said Sunday's losing pitcher Jamie Moyer, whose team was two games out of first heading into the road stretch. "You can't make up five games until you make up one game. You can't look down the road."
The Braves, meanwhile, snapped a three-game losing streak Monday and avoided falling to .500 for the first time since June 24.
"We're gonna just have to run a streak here, see what happens," manager Bobby Cox said.
The Phillies, who also trail Arizona in the wild-card standings, have given up 24 runs in their last three games after yielding 20 during their six-game win streak. Philadelphia's starting pitchers allowed 16 earned runs in 11 2-3 innings during the three losses.
On Sunday, though, the lineup also struggled, recording just four hits with Chase Utley going 3-for-4. Utley is batting .393 (11-for-28) with a homer and six RBIs in seven games since coming off the disabled list with a broken hand Aug. 27.
Utley is hitting .372 (16-for-43) against the Braves this season.
The Braves will send Buddy Carlyle (8-5, 5.02 ERA) to the mound Tuesday. The right-hander has lost both his career starts to the Phillies, posting an 8.64 ERA in those games. He pitched 4 1-3 innings and gave up three earned runs and six hits in a 5-3 home loss to Atlanta on Aug. 12.
Philadelphia will look to Kyle Lohse (7-12, 4.54) to finally give them a solid outing from a starter Tuesday. He allowed three runs and five hits in just 3 2-3 innings of the Phillies' 11-10 win over the Mets on Thursday.
The right-hander is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in two starts against the Braves, and will face them for the first time this season Tuesday.
All-Star catcher Brian McCann drove in two runs Monday and was one of three players with two hits for the Braves, who scored one more run Monday than they did while getting swept in three games by the Mets over the weekend.
McCann is batting .325 (13-for-40) with two homers and 11 RBIs against Philadelphia this season.
Game Info: 7:35 pm EDT Tue Sep 4, 2007
The Philadelphia Phillies' play on their current road trip has not helped in their push for the NL East lead.
The Phillies look to avoid a fourth straight loss when they continue their series with the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on Tuesday.
Philadelphia (72-65) lost 5-1 to the Braves in Monday's opener, its third consecutive defeat since a six-game win streak that included a four-game sweep of the first-place New York Mets.
The loss dropped the second-place Phillies to five games back, while Atlanta (70-68) remains in third place, 7 1/2 behind the Mets. Philadelphia is 1-3 on its six-game trip.
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"We've got to find a way to recreate some momentum here and turn this into a respectable trip," said Sunday's losing pitcher Jamie Moyer, whose team was two games out of first heading into the road stretch. "You can't make up five games until you make up one game. You can't look down the road."
The Braves, meanwhile, snapped a three-game losing streak Monday and avoided falling to .500 for the first time since June 24.
"We're gonna just have to run a streak here, see what happens," manager Bobby Cox said.
The Phillies, who also trail Arizona in the wild-card standings, have given up 24 runs in their last three games after yielding 20 during their six-game win streak. Philadelphia's starting pitchers allowed 16 earned runs in 11 2-3 innings during the three losses.
On Sunday, though, the lineup also struggled, recording just four hits with Chase Utley going 3-for-4. Utley is batting .393 (11-for-28) with a homer and six RBIs in seven games since coming off the disabled list with a broken hand Aug. 27.
Utley is hitting .372 (16-for-43) against the Braves this season.
The Braves will send Buddy Carlyle (8-5, 5.02 ERA) to the mound Tuesday. The right-hander has lost both his career starts to the Phillies, posting an 8.64 ERA in those games. He pitched 4 1-3 innings and gave up three earned runs and six hits in a 5-3 home loss to Atlanta on Aug. 12.
Philadelphia will look to Kyle Lohse (7-12, 4.54) to finally give them a solid outing from a starter Tuesday. He allowed three runs and five hits in just 3 2-3 innings of the Phillies' 11-10 win over the Mets on Thursday.
The right-hander is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in two starts against the Braves, and will face them for the first time this season Tuesday.
All-Star catcher Brian McCann drove in two runs Monday and was one of three players with two hits for the Braves, who scored one more run Monday than they did while getting swept in three games by the Mets over the weekend.
McCann is batting .325 (13-for-40) with two homers and 11 RBIs against Philadelphia this season.