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Braves edge Phillies in rubber game of series

May 3, 2007 - 5:33 AM ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Willie Harris came through for the Atlanta Braves just after Ryan Howard had done the same for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Harris drove in the winning run and the Braves posted a 4-3 victory over the Phillies on Wednesday in the rubber game of a three-game series.

Harris had a single through the hole into right field with the bases loaded in the sixth inning to give Atlanta a 4-3 lead. The Braves loaded the bases with no outs but only got one run.

"I just wanted to go out there and earn the respect of my teammates and let them know I play the game hard," said Harris, who played in college at Kennesaw State University in suburban Atlanta. "I'm trying to make a good impression early and play the game right. To get off to a big start is huge."

It was enough as Atlanta's bullpen silenced the Philadelphia offense over the final four innings.

Chad Paronto (1-0) picked up the win while Tyler Yates, Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano each tossed a scoreless inning. Soriano picked up his second save of the season while filling in for injured closer Bob Wickman.

"This team is built pretty good," Chipper Jones said. "We're strong, the lineup is strong. We're solid defensively. We have solid starting pitching and we're solid in the bullpen."

The four Braves relievers came on after starter Chuck James faltered in the sixth. James allowed three runs and eight hits in five plus innings with six strikeouts.

Two of his strikeouts came against Howard but the reigning National League MVP exacted some revenge in his third at-bat.

Howard had been dreadful against James but finally broke through against the lefthander in the sixth to get the Phillies back in the game.

"Everybody has my number, who hasn't," Howard said. "I haven't been hitting the ball the best."

Howard was 0-for-9 lifetime against James with five strikeouts entering the game and struck out in each of his first two at-bats Wednesday. James left a changeup out over the plate in the sixth and Howard jumped all over it, crushing a three-run homer over the 400-foot sign in center to forge a 3-3 tie.

"His changeup was filthy today," said Howard, who struck out three times in the contest. "He made one mistake and kept it up. He probably would have liked to have it back, just like I would have liked to have all the other three at bats back."

"It was a changeup," James said. "I guess the whole time I've been facing him, I'd been doing pretty well with the changeup. I knew he was pretty much sitting on it. I kind of helped him out. I probably would have done the same thing (with the pitch), but probably not hit it quite as high."

Philadelphia starter Freddy Garcia promptly gave up two singles and hit a batter to load the bases in the bottom of the sixth Geoff Geary came on in relief and allowed the single to Harris, which proved to be the difference.

"One swing from big boy (Howard) and it was all tied back up," Chipper Jones said. "We came back in and seized the momentum in the game and our solid bullpen closed the door."

Atlanta took an early 1-0 lead when Andruw Jones grounded into a fielder's choice in the first inning, scoring Edgar Renteria.

Chipper Jones, who was supposed to be given the day off before catcher Brian McCann was injured on Tuesday, continued his recent tear with a two-run double in the third to make it 3-0.

"Fortunately, I came up in a big spot and was able to get a big hit," Chipper Jones said. "I want to keep going."

Chipper Jones extended his hitting streak to 12 games and went 4-for-10 with three homers, six RBI and four runs scored in the series with the Phillies. He has a hit in 24 of Atlanta's 27 games this season.

"He's hit us pretty hard," Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said. "It's pretty hard to walk him when they have Andruw (hitting behind him). They have a good lineup."

Garcia (1-2) allowed four runs and seven hits before leaving with the bases loaded and no outs in the sixth.