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Phillies use power display to top Braves

Jun 8, 2008 - 3:55 AM By Phil Foley PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- The Philadelphia Phillies remained hot on a sweltering night at Turner Field.

Reigning National League MVP Jimmy Rollins belted one of his team's three home runs as the Phillies posted a 6-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.

Carlos Ruiz and Pat Burrell also homered for the scorching Phillies, who have won 14 of their last 18 games.

"I'll take it," said Phillies closer Brad Lidge, who recorded the final three outs for Philadelphia's pen, which is 9-1 with a 1.94 ERA on the road this season. "We're going through a great stretch right now."

Chipper Jones launched a two-run shot for Atlanta, which has lost three of its last four.

The Phillies have been tormenting teams across baseball of late, sporting a major league-best 30-16 record since April 20.?? The club has been even more lethal against lefthanders, posting a 16-7 mark in games against southpaw starters this season.

Jo-Jo Reyes (2-4) and the Braves were the Phillies' next victims on a humid 91-degree night in Atlanta.

"Things are working out for us," said Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel, who won his 300th game with the team. "Things are going our way. We're getting the big hit and we're getting the starting pitching."

With the contest knotted at 2-2 in the seventh, Reyes - who had gone further into a game than any previous time in his brief major league career - issued a one-out walk to Shane Victorino.?? Chase Utley followed by blasting a triple down the right-field line on Reyes' 109th and final pitch of the evening to give Philadelphia a 3-2 lead.

"Shane may have outrun Big Brown today," Manuel joked of his center fielder and the thoroughbred that failed to win the Triple Crown at Belmont racetrack earlier Saturday. "Today I would have taken (him). Of course, I am a frontrunner."

Ryan Howard followed with an RBI single against reliever Royce Ring to open a two-run cushion.?? Rollins put the game out of reach an inning later with a two-run blast into the right field bleachers for his fourth homer of the season.

"When the ball was hit, my mind was on one thing - scoring," Rollins said. "I didn't now how hard it was hit. ... We had some good hitting. That put us in control of the game."

J.C. Romero (4-1) recorded the final two outs of the seventh for the victory.

Reyes allowed four runs and seven hits while walking two and striking out eight in 7 1/3 frames for Atlanta but was lamenting about the walk to Victorino after the game.

"That one walk killed me," Reyes said. "I felt fine. I felt my velocity was there. I just didn't make my pitches in the last inning."

Counterpart Kyle Kendrick surrendered two runs and four hits in 5 1/3 innings, walking five and striking out three.

Kendrick did not figure in the decision, but Philadelphia still improved to 9-1 in the righthander's last 10 starts.

Jones finished 1-for-3 with a walk to see his league-leading average dip to .420.?? That mark is the highest in baseball on June 7 since Paul O'Neill of the New York Yankees hit .431 in 1994.

If only the rest of Atlanta's hitters could have come through in the clutch.

"He's something," quipped a frustrated Braves manager Bobby Cox about Jones, who was terse with reporters after the game. "Need somebody else to (get hot) with him there."

The frustration mounted all night for the Braves, who blew a 2-1, two-out lead on Friday when Kelly Johnson dropped a popup before the Phillies won the game in extra innings.

A number of Braves players took exception with plate umpire Andy Fletcher's strike zone, including shortstop Yunel Escobar, who was ejected after arguing a strike-three call with two outs in the ninth.

"It's very frustrating," Johnson said. "Obviously, to lose a series at home is tough. Unfortunately, the first two games haven't gone our way."

Jeff Francoeur had two hits for Atlanta (32-31), which fell 5 1/2 games behind Philadelphia (38-26) in the NL East Division.