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Braves eye playoff berth against NL East-winning Phils

Sep 27, 2011 - 5:58 PM (Sports Network) - The Atlanta Braves could clinch a playoff berth with a win tonight coupled by a St. Louis loss. Standing in the way of that goal are the Philadelphia Phillies, who look to win this series with a victory Tuesday in the second portion of a three-game set at Turner Field.

The Braves dropped a 4-2 decision to the Phillies in Monday's series opener and remained a game ahead of the Cardinals for the National League Wild Card. Chipper Jones homered and Alex Gonzalez drove in a run to give Atlanta a short-lived 2-0 lead before the Phillies tacked on four unanswered runs.

"I thought we played a good ballgame and got off to a good start," Jones said on the team's site. "I thought we swung the bats pretty good. We just faced a pretty good pitcher out there and a pretty good team. They came back and got us. We had a couple opportunities and didn't cash in. But I'll take that kind of effort from the guys every day. Sometimes you just get beat."

Randall Delgado allowed two runs in five innings for the no-decision and Cristhian Martinez surrendered the go-ahead run in the sixth inning for the Braves, who have lost three straight and six of eight games.

Braves veteran right-hander Derek Lowe will toe the rubber Tuesday and is hoping to stop a personal four-start losing streak. He previously took the mound in Wednesday's 4-0 loss at Florida and was reached for three runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings, falling to 9-16 in 33 starts to go along with a 4.92 earned run average.

Lowe lost at Philadelphia on Sept. 5 and is 8-7 with a 3.39 ERA in 22 career games (18 starts) against the Phillies.

Before the Phillies rest for the playoffs they will try to end the regular season with a series triumph in Dixie. Owners of the best record in baseball at 100-60, the Phillies rallied behind Cliff Lee last night for their second straight win since a season-worst eight-game slide.

Raul Ibanez singled in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning and added an insurance RBI base hit in the eighth, while Jimmy Rollins homered and Lee fanned six over as many innings and gave up five hits and a pair of runs for the win. His career-high 238 strikeouts this year are the most for any Phillies left-hander since Steve Carlton struck out a major league-leading 275 in 1983. Lee is also the first lefty to compile 17 wins for the team since Shane Rawley finished with a 17-11 record in 1987.

The Phillies secured their third-ever 100-win season in franchise history, one shy of a club record (1976-77). The Phillies are the first National League team to post a 100-win season since the Cardinals in 2005. They also clinched the best record in the majors this season when the Yankees lost at Tampa Bay Monday night.

"It means we're a good team," Lee said of reaching 100 wins. "That's really it. I've never been on a team that's won 100 games. It's definitely the best team I've ever played on. That kind of proves it."

The NL East-champion Phillies also tied a franchise-record with their 48th road win, also accomplished in 1976 and 2009. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is one victory shy of tying Gene Mauch (645 wins from 1960-68) for first place on the club's all-time list.

Roy Oswalt draws the start for Philadelphia tonight and is 8-10 with a 3.86 earned run average through 22 starts. He has dropped two of his last three trips to the mound, including Thursday's 6-1 setback to Washington in which he permitted six runs and seven hits in 7 2/3 innings.

Oswalt has faced Atlanta 11 times in his career, 10 of which have been starts, and is 1-3 with a 5.15 ERA. The righty is 4-6 in 12 road outings this season.

Philadelphia leads the season series with Atlanta by a 10-6 count and has won the last five meetings between the two clubs.