Wood helps Braves finish sweep of Phils
PHILADELPHIA -- Alex Wood admitted that his mind was elsewhere. However, his pitching was sharp.
The Atlanta rookie left-hander won his second consecutive start Sunday night as the Braves ran their winning streak to 10 with a 4-1 victory over the skidding Philadelphia Phillies.
"I didn't want to be the one to lose the streak for us," Wood said.
Atlanta swept the three-game series.
Wood (2-2), who beat the Colorado Rockies for his first major league victory in his previous start, allowed one run on two hits over six innings Sunday. He struck out three and walked two.
Afterward he said that while he wasn't distracted by the fact that he was pitching on national television against Phillies ace Cliff Lee, he did have a great deal on his mind: A high school friend injured in a canoeing accident is in a coma back in his hometown of Charlotte, N.C.
"It's hard not to think about him," said Wood, who declined to give the friend's name.
He was buoyed when the Braves scored two runs off Lee in the first, on Chris Johnson's two-out single, and went on from there.
"Any time you get a two-run lead off a guy like Cliff Lee," Wood said, "you feel like you've got a little room to work with."
He allowed a run in the third but pitched out of a two-on, none-out jam in the fifth, getting the final out when he picked John Mayberry Jr. off second base.
Luis Ayala and Scott Downs combined for two scoreless innings of relief, and Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth to earn his 34th save.
In all, the Phillies managed four hits to drop their fifth straight game, and their 13th in their last 14. They are in the midst of their worst stretch since they went 1-18 between Aug. 29 and Sept. 14, 1999.
"It's getting real tough," Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said. "We probably squared up three, four balls in nine innings. ... I think we've got to show more hunger, definitely when we're hitting."
Jason Heyward reached base three times and scored twice for the National League East leaders, who scored all of their runs off Lee (10-5).
Lee, who missed his start last Saturday in Detroit with a stiff neck, allowed eight hits and four runs (three earned) in five innings to drop his third straight decision. He struck out eight and walked two.
With Atlanta holding a 2-0 lead, Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz led off the third with a blast to left that was first ruled a home run, then changed to a double after a replay review. After a sacrifice bunt by Lee, Ruiz scored on Michael Young's groundout.
B.J. Upton was also denied a homer in the fourth when his drive to right-center was changed to a double following a review. He came around to score when Heyward lined a single off the scoreboard in right with two outs. Justin Upton followed with an RBI double, making it 4-1.
NOTES: Atlanta managed five hits in its 12-inning victory over the Phillies on Saturday. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that is the fewest hits for the Braves in a victory that went 12 innings or more since they beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 in 13 innings on May 26, 1959, when they were still in Milwaukee. That was the game in which Pirates pitcher Harvey Haddix had a perfect game through 12 before losing it on Joe Adcock's hit in the 13th. ... Phillies All-Star OF Domonic Brown, out since July 23 with concussion-like symptoms, said he would go on a rehab assignment Monday. He hopes to return Wednesday against the Cubs. ... Braves OF Jordan Schafer, out since July 4 with a right ankle contusion, went a combined 1-for-7 Saturday and Sunday in the first two games of a rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett. ... Philadelphia starting pitchers are just 2-14 since May 12 in appearances that fall on Saturday or Sunday. ... The Phillies again honored their 1993 National League championship team before the game. Former catcher Darren Daulton, battling brain cancer, was once more accorded a thunderous ovation. Ruben Amaro Jr., a reserve outfielder on that club who is now the general manager, was booed.
