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Stingy Phillies, Braves wrap set in Philly

May 8, 2011 - 2:53 PM (Sports Network) - The Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves are both among the leaders in baseball in shutout victories. It's not surprising then that each club has picked one up so far in this three-game series that is set to end tonight at Citizens Bank Park.

The Braves, Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers top baseball with six shutouts each. Atlanta's sixth came in Friday's opener, a 5-0 triumph, while Philadelphia countered last night with a 3-0 victory.

Both clubs send out starters for tonight's finale that are equally capable of putting up zeros as the Phillies' Cole Hamels opposes Jair Jurrjens of the Braves.

The left-handed Hamels seeks a fourth straight winning start when he takes the mound.

Since getting drilled for six runs over just 2 2/3 innings in his season debut on April 5, Hamels is 4-0 in five starts with a 1.42 earned run average, striking out 37 over 38 innings. He threw his first complete game of the season on Tuesday versus Washington, scattering a run and five hits with six strikeouts to lower his season ERA to 2.66.

"I try to pitch all night," Hamels, who also hit his first career triple said. "I try to get the complete game. It's kind of the mentality I've always had and it's not going to happen all the time because of pitch counts. I was fortunate enough that guys were swinging early and getting a couple of key double plays."

The 27-year-old beat the Braves on April 10 in his first start after his season debut debacle, throwing seven scoreless innings of four-hit ball with eight strikeouts. That upped Hamels' career mark versus Atlanta to 10-5 with a 3.72 ERA in 20 starts.

Jurrjens, meanwhile, goes after a third straight winning start this evening after defeating the Brewers on Monday. The right-hander gave up two runs on seven hits over 7 2/3 innings, striking out four without a walk.

"[Jurrjens] did a great job as usual," said catcher David Ross. "He has been locating his fastball, mixing his changeup into both sides of the plate ... He did a good job of keeping those guys at bay, because that's a real dangerous lineup."

Jurrjens has yet to lose in four starts this season, going 3-0 with a 1.52 ERA. The 25-year-old is 3-3 with a 2.56 ERA in nine career starts against the Phillies.

As a righty, Jurrjens will have to be careful against left-handed Phillies slugger Ryan Howard, who is 7-for-25 with a homer and three RBI in his career versus the Braves starter. Howard reached a milestone in last night's victory, blasting the 260th homer of his career to move past Del Ennis for second place on the club's all-time list. Howard, though, still has a ways to go to catch Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, who tops the Phillies list with 548 homers.

Kyle Kendrick got the start after Roy Oswalt was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a back injury and got the win, giving up two hits over five scoreless innings.

Philadelphia picked up its fourth victory in five games and is 6-2 on a nine- game homestand, while Atlanta saw it season-high six-game win streak end.

Called up for a spot start due to Wednesday's doubleheader, Julio Teheran made his much-anticipated debut and gave up three runs over 4 2/3 innings. Dan Uggla had one of Atlanta's five hits, a double.

"We hit some balls at people with no results. That's the way the game goes sometimes. It can be cruel," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. "If some of those fall in, it's a different ballgame."

The Phillies took two of three from the Braves in Atlanta in early April and have won eight of the past 11 meetings overall.