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Carlyle looks to help Braves close in on Mets

Aug 12, 2007 - 2:31 PM Atlanta (62-55) at Philadelphia (61-55), 8:05 pm EDT

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) - The Atlanta Braves look to move the closest they have been to first place in almost a month as they finish off a three-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.

Kelly Johnson homered and drove in three runs and Jeff Francoeur added a solo blast in Saturday's 7-5 win, which helped the Braves move 2 1/2 games behind the New York Mets (64-52) in the National League East.

A big reason for the Braves' success has been the pitching of journeyman Buddy Carlyle.

Carlyle (7-3, 4.28 ERA) takes the hill in search of his third straight win. The 30-year-old righthander improved to 6-1 with a 3.21 ERA in his last eight starts after allowing three runs and six hits in five innings in a 7-3 win over the Mets on Tuesday.

Atlanta is looking to finish off its six-game road trip at 4-2 and pull within 1 1/2 games of the Mets. Should this happen, it would be the closest the Braves have been to first place since July 17.

Meanwhile, the Phillies (61-55) are also chasing the Mets and trail them by three games. Jamie Moyer (10-8, 4.70), who is unbeaten in his last four starts, gets the ball for Philadelphia. On Tuesday, Moyer held Florida to one run and five hits in six innings in an 11-1 win.