Braves 8, Phillies 7
ATLANTA - Chipper Jones capped a five-run ninth-inning rally with a three-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give the Braves an 8-7 victory over the Phillies on Sunday.
The Braves trailed 7-3 entering the bottom of the ninth and were still behind by four with two outs when Martin Prado hit a bases-loaded double off Jonathan Papelbon that brought in two runs.
Jones followed with his three-run blast off Papelbon to end the game and give Atlanta the unlikely victory.
The Phillies had dominated the game to that point, starting in the first inning.
Phillies starter Cole Hamels batted before he pitched, striking out to end the Phillies' five-run first inning as they batted around. Ryan Howard drove in two of the runs on a double to left, and Erik Kratz drove in the other three with a double down the right field line.
Atlanta starter Paul Maholm was in trouble from the start. Chase Utley's one-on, one-out hit bounced off the first base bag fair and careened out to right field. After the first six batters, with the score 2-0, the Braves' bullpen was up and throwing.
Maholm hung in there through two batters in the third inning, his shortest outing of the season.
Meanwhile, Hamels cruised through the muggy late afternoon, driving in two runs on a ground-rule double with the bases loaded in the third inning while pitching six innings of six-hit ball.
Reed Johnson drove in the Braves' first three runs, one on a second-inning double and two more with a sixth-inning single. He also singled with one out in the ninth. One walk later, with the potential tying run on deck, Papelbon came in hoping to earn his 32nd save.
Instead, Jones hit sent a 1-1 pitch out of the park and Papelbon got the loss (3-6).
The win went to Peter Moylan (1-0).
Notes: Manager Fredi Gonzalez, finally acknowledging publically that the Braves' offense in on the skids, revamped his lineup for Sunday's game versus Hamels, sitting struggling players Brian McCann and Dan Uggla. Gonzalez moved Jones, the only consistent hitter, back to the third spot in the order and dropped Jason Heyward to sixth in an attempt to lengthen the lineup. . . . Andrelton Simmons (broken right little finger) was tearing around the bases before batting practice to prove his legs were in condition to begin a rehab assignment. He'll start with Double-A Mississippi on Monday, then play with Class-A Rome (Georgia) on Wednesday and with High-A Lynchburg on Thursday. . . . The Phillies won nine of 10 games from the Braves from July 10, 2011 to May 3 of this season. . . . Justin De Fratus and Jake Diekman were recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley before the game. . . .Elias Sports Bureau says that Cliff Lee's bases-loaded walk in Saturday's games was the first time Tim Hudson had ever walked an opposing pitcher with the bases full.
