The Braves got to Cliff Lee for six runs in less than four innings, and Tim Hudson settled in for seven-plus solid innings as Atlanta took the home opener over the Phillies, 6-3.
The Braves tacked on three runs in the second and fourth innings against Lee, recording 10 hits total against the left-hander. Martin Prado, Nate McLouth and Alex Gonzalez drove in a run apiece in the second, while Chipper Jones doubled home three in the fourth.
Lee was chased after 3.1 innings. He allowed seven ground balls, five fly balls and five line drives, ending with a WPA of -.498. He constantly left his cutter and four-seamer up and over the plate, resulting in several hard hit balls by Braves hitters. Such a bad game by Lee command-wise is very rare.
Prado went 3-5 with one double and one RBI. McLouth went 2-5 with one RBI. Gonzalez added one double and one RBI. Brian McCann added two singles.
Chipper went 2-4 with a double and three RBI. His second hit was his 2,500th career hit, making him the 93rd player in major league history to reach the number.
Dan Uggla was the lone Brave with a hitless game, going 0-4. He had the lowest WPA of Atlanta's hitters at -.100. The best mark was Prado's .157.
Hudson allowed three runs on eight hits in 7.2 innings, not walking any and striking out two. He hit the 100-pitch mark with two outs in the seventh before being pulled. Hudson induced 20 ground balls to six fly balls and three line drives, which is very solid.
He fought through some bad luck in the first couple innings to settle in nicely, though he did have to fight through a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, but Ryan Howard grounded into a double play to end the inning. Hudson allowed just two baserunners after the fifth.
With a runner on second and two outs in the eighth, Jonny Venters struck out Raul Ibanez for the final out in the inning. Craig Kimbrel pitched a perfect ninth to shut the door on the Phillies.
Ben Francisco led the Phillies with two hits, including a double, and one RBI. Shane Victorino added two singles and one RBI. Howard recorded one RBI, but he was held hitless at 0-3.
For more on the series, Braves fans check out Talking Chop and Phillies fans check out The Good Phight.