Diamondbacks 2 - 9 Phillies
Final
  for this game

Valdez, Phils halt D-Backs win streak

Aug 18, 2011 - 3:04 AM

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Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Wilson Valdez's two-run double broke a tie game in the seventh inning and helped spark the Philadelphia Phillies over the Diamondbacks, 9-2, snapping Arizona's seven-game winning streak.

Arizona took the opener of this three-game series between division leaders by getting the better of Roy Halladay in the ninth inning of Tuesday's 3-2 win.

Cliff Lee (13-7) picked up his fellow ace with seven quality innings, allowing two runs on three hits while fanning seven and walking a pair to earn the win.

Joe Saunders (8-10) matched Lee for the first six frames but was pulled after Valdez skyed a ball to straightaway center field that kept sailing over Chris Young's head.

The double off the wall came immediately after Hunter Pence walked and John Mayberry singled to start the inning. Both runners scored to break a 2-2 tie, and Valdez later raced in on Ben Francisco's pinch-hit sacrifice fly.

Philadelphia blew the game open against Arizona's bullpen in the eighth, which started with singles by Ryan Howard, Pence and Mayberry to extend the lead to 6-2.

Brian Schneider added a bases-loaded RBI single, Jimmy Rollins plated Mayberry with a sac fly and Shane Victorino doubled in a run to make it a rout.

"We kind of fell apart the last couple of innings," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson admitted.

Rollins opened the home first with the 37th leadoff home run of his career. Paul Goldschmidt answered in the second with a two-run blast to roughly the same spot -- about five rows up in the bleachers of left center.

Goldschmidt's homer snapped Lee's scoreless streak at 18 innings, but the lefty did not allow a runner past first base the rest of his outing.

"After the second inning, I commanded the ball a lot better and stayed out of the heart of the plate," Lee explained.

Pence doubled leading off the bottom of the second and Mayberry shot a single up the middle. Pence scored without a play at the plate despite an unnecessary slide into third base.

Game Notes

The crowd of 45,894 at Citizens Bank Park was a regular-season record...Lee has won four straight starts...Pence went 2-for-2 with two walks and three runs scored...Mayberry had his second three-hit game of the season...Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz was sidelined with a groin injury...Rollins has an 18-game hitting streak against the Diamondbacks...Arizona has not won eight in a row since April 4-12, 2008...Saunders was charged with five runs on five hits and four walks in his outing...In Thursday's rubber match, the Diamondbacks will send their No. 1 starter, Ian Kennedy, to the hill against Phillies rookie Vance Worley.






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