• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Phillies hope to get back on track, hold division lead

Sep 24, 2008 - 10:11 AM Atlanta (70-88) at Philadelphia (89-69) 7:05 p.m. EDT

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The Philadelphia Phillies have absorbed many losses lately, and they certainly can't afford many more.

The Phillies will be looking to bounce back from a rare defeat when they face the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.

Philadelphia has won 10 of its last 12 and has taken 14 of 17 meetings from the Braves this season, but one of those setbacks came on Tuesday when Casey Kotchman homered and Kelly Johnson drove in a run in a 3-2 win.

The loss trimmed the Phillies' lead in the National League East to 1 1/2 games over the New York Mets (87-70). Philadelphia finishes the season with three games against Washington after this series finale.

Brett Myers (10-12, 4.46 ERA) will be attempting to bounce back from his worst outing of the season. The veteran righthander started off slowly this season and was sent down to the minors to work on his mechanics and mentality at the end of June.

After his return on July 23, Myers went 7-2 with a 1.80 ERA and a .216 batting average against in his first 11 starts. But he ran into his first taste of adversity against the Florida Marlins on Friday, allowing 10 runs in four innings to suffer a loss.

The Braves will counter with lefthander Jo-Jo Reyes (3-11, 5.74). The 23-year-old has not made it out of the fourth inning in either of his last two starts, allowing nine runs in 5 1/3 combined frames.

Reyes is 0-2 in three starts against Philadelphia this season, allowing 14 runs in 16 2/3 combined innings.