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Moyer beat Braves for first time in 20 years

May 26, 2007 - 4:16 AM ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Greg Dobbs helped Jamie Moyer beat the Atlanta Braves for the first time in 20 years.

Dobbs drove in two runs in the seventh and Moyer hurled seven solid innings to power the Philadelphia Phillies to an 8-3 win over the Braves.

The 44-year old Moyer (5-3), who has spent the better part of 21 seasons in the majors, has struggled against Atlanta. Coming into this one, the lefthander had dropped six straight decisions against the Braves. His lone win against the Braves occurred on May 23, 1987 when Moyer was a member of the Cubs.

Twenty years and two days later, Moyer finally figured out a way to beat Atlanta again.

"I didn't know (it had been that long)," Moyer said. "I wasn't aware of it until I saw it on television."

The crafty veteran surrendered three runs - two earned - and five hits, walked one and struck out four in seven innings. Moyer needed 106 pitches 68 strikes to dispatch of an Atlanta lineup that had taken five of six games from the Phillies coming into this one.

"I felt alright," Moyer said. "I don't know if I tricked anybody. I did a good job of keeping the ball down and utilizing my defense."

"We just couldn't hit Moyer that much at all," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "We couldn't generate any big innings."

Moyer could thank his former Seattle teammate Dobbs, who was in elementary school when the southpaw last beat the Braves, for giving him the victory.

With the game tied, 3-3, in the seventh, Atlanta starter Tim Hudson (5-3) issued a one-out walk to Chase Utley and intentionally walked Ryan Howard after Utley advanced to second on a wild pitch.

After inducing Pat Burrell to pop out, Hudson issued a free pass to Aaron Rowand to load the bases for Dobbs. The 28-year-old smashed Hudson's 122nd offering past a diving Scott Thorman into right field, plating Utley and Howard.

"I didn't make a bad pitch on him," Hudson said. "It was just out of the reach of Thorman. I felt strong in the seventh inning. I felt under control. They just got me in a bit of a jam and hit it where we weren't."

The Phillies improved to 11-2 in games where Dobbs is penciled into the starting lineup.

"Whatever good fortune comes our way, I'll take it," Dobbs said. "I want to make the most of the opportunities I'm getting and try to help us win."

It was the second rough outing for Hudson, who allowed six runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings in his last outing against Boston. The Alabama-native scattered five runs and 10 hits, struck out three and walked three in 6 2/3 innings en route to dropping his second straight decision.

"I felt really good tonight," Hudson said. "If I threw the ball the way I did tonight on other nights, we would have won."

Philadelphia took a 1-0 lead in the first, when Utley plated Rollins with a groundout. Moyer helped his own cause in the third by leading off the frame with a single and advancing to third a double by Rollins. Shane Victorino plated Moyer with an infield hit and Rollins scored on Utley's groundout.

Atlanta tied the game in the sixth thanks to a throwing error by first baseman Howard, who was activated from the disabled list prior to the game.

With runners at second and third, Jeff Francoeur was retired on a grounder, but Howard uncorked a wild throw to the plate allowing Kelly Johnson and Martin Prado to score. But Howard redeemed himself in the eighth by driving in two runs with a double off Tyler Yates to give Philadelphia a 7-3 edge.

"It felt great to come back," Howard said. "The positive thing was to go out there and have four good at bats. I kind of liked how I was seeing the ball."

Edgar Renteria and Braves manager Bobby Cox were ejected by plate umpire Paul Emmel in the bottom of the fourth for arguing a disputed called strike.

It was the 129th ejection of the Atlanta skipper's managerial career, placing him just two ejections behind John "Tug" McGraw for first place on the all-time list.

Jayson Werth homered in the ninth for the Phillies, who improved to 2-2 on their six game road trip.