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Phillips comes through in 15th to seal Reds' sweep

Jul 18, 2007 - 10:55 PM ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Brandon Phillips did not the start the game, but ended up making two of the biggest plays to seal an unthinkable sweep.

Phillips delivered a single with the bases loaded and two outs in the 15th inning as the Cincinnati Reds completed their first sweep at the Atlanta Braves in 17 years with a 5-4 victory on Wednesday.

After swinging badly on a fastball by rookie Jose Ascanio (0-1) on the previous pitch, Phillips lined a base hit up the middle to score both Norris Hopper and Ken Griffey, Jr. with one out in the inning.

"I was just trying to hit a ball up the middle," Phillips said. "He left one hanging and I was lucky enough to hit it up the middle."

That second run proved crucial, as Atlanta scored once in the bottom half on an RBI single by Jeff Francoeur before Mike Gosling (1-0) struck out pitcher Kyle Davies, who was pinch hitting, with runners on first and second to end the contest.

Gosling walked Jarrod Saltalamacchia to get to Davies, as the Braves were out of position players.

"I'm not going to give (Saltalamacchia) a chance to win it with Davies on deck," Gosling said. "No disrespect to Davies, but a pitcher is a pitcher and a hitter is a hitter. These are games where you use everybody you have."

The marathon game proved noteworthy for Cincinnati, which swept a series here for the first time since April 13-16, 1990. The Reds entered the day with the second-worst record in the National League (39-55).

"We're a good team," Phillips said. "We're starting to put everything together. We're learning from each other. We can't worry about our record."

Phillips, who resides in Stone Mountain, Georgia, was a key figure in the victory despite not entering the game as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning.

"I didn't even take batting practice," Phillips said. "I learned my lesson."

Although the 26-year-old grounded out leading off the ninth after the Braves tied the score at 2-2 in the previous frame on a sacrifice fly by Francoeur, Phillips presence proved extremely important in the 10th when Atlanta was threatening to win.

Already knotting the score at 3-3 in the inning on a double by Chipper Jones, the Braves witnessed Phillips make sure that an unorthodox defensive alignment by Reds interim manager Pete Mackanin paid off.

With Jones at third with one out, Mackanin had Brian McCann intentionally walk to try and set up an potential double play. He also decided to bring center fielder Ryan Freel in to second base for a five-man infield.

"A five-man infield, that's been done before," Mackanin said. "Anytime you have a runner on third with no out, you have to scramble and gamble."

The gamble paid off as the second baseman Phillips snagged a lined shot by Francoeur before catching Jones too far off third to end the threat.

"Everybody played in but Brandon Phillips in the infield and I hit it right at him," Francoeur said. "When I hit it, I didn't think he had a chance to catch it.

"I thought (the game) was over. He caught it and he threw Chipper out. It was a nightmare. And then you play for two more hours. Unreal."

After that close call, both teams rarely had any chances until the 15th, when Hopper led off the frame by reaching on an error by second baseman Kelly Johnson. Two batters later, Griffey singled and Scott Hatteberg was later intentionally walked to load the bases for Phillips, who delivered on a 1-2 delivery.

It continued a hot streak for Phillips, who has knocked in 12 runs in his last six games.

Earlier on, the game was dominated by pitching as the Braves' John Smoltz and Reds' Aaron Harang dueled back and forth.

The 40-year-old Smoltz finished dominant in his first start since he was sidelined with right shoulder inflammation on July 3. The Atlanta ace scattered five hits, walked two and struck out 11 in seven scoreless frames.

It was the 41st career double-digit strikeout game for Smoltz, who fanned more than 10 batters in a game for the first time since April 10, 2005, when he matched a career high by punching 15 batters against the New York Mets.

Rookie Jarrod Saltalamacchia opened the scoring with an RBI single in the seventh inning, but the Reds stormed to a 2-1 advantage when Adam Dunn hit a two-run homer off righthander Rafael Soriano in the eighth.

Francoeur, who finished with three hits, re-tied the score in the eighth on a sacrifice fly before Cincinnati took a 3-2 lead on a RBI single by Scott Hatteberg.

Harang allowed two runs and 10 hits, striking out eight in 7 2/3 frames. He hurled 80 of his 118 pitches for strikes.

In the first inning, Griffey became the 84th player in major league history to collect his 2,500th major league hit with a single.

Rookie shortstop Pedro Lopez had three hits for the Reds, who won for the ninth time in 13 games since Mackanin was named interim manager on July 1.