Philadelphia's bats erupted for 14 runs and 20 hits as they head into the All-Star break after a 14-1 beat down of Atlanta. The Phillies took an early 4-1 advantage before blowing the game completely open in the seventh and eighth innings where they combined to score ten more runs. Derek Lowe suffers his seventh loss of the season while Cole Hamels earns his 11th win heading into the break.
The most surprising part of today's game was that Atlanta actually led in it. The Braves took an early 1-0 lead when Dan Uggla scored on a ground out by Julio Lugo in the 2nd. Atlanta failed to do anymore damage against Hamels who allowed just three hits over his eight innings of work.
The Phillies quickly tied the score in the bottom half of the inning with a John Mayberry Jr double. They would add two more runs in the third and one more in the fourth extending the lead to 4-1.
The wheels would completely come off for the Braves and reliever Cory Gearrin in the seventh. The big hit in the inning was a bases loaded single by Raul Ibanez that pushed the score out to 6-1. Dominic Brown and Mayberry each added two RBI hits and Atlanta was down 10-1 by the time the smoke had cleared. The big inning prompted the Phillies crowd to mockingly start a tomahawk chop chant at the Braves.
The Phillies weren't done as Ibanez added a three run home run in the eighth and Mayberry brought home the 14th and final run of the night with a fielder's choice ground out.
Gearrin pitched just a third of an inning while allowing four hits and six runs. His ERA jumps all the way to 6.61 in the process. Scott Proctor came on in the seventh and was tagged for six hits and four runs including Ibanez's homer in the eighth.
Atlanta could muster only four hits on the afternoon including one from pitcher Derek Lowe. Ibanez finished 2 for 5 for Philadelphia with a homer and six RBI's. Mayberry Jr. was 3 for 5 with four RBI's.