Philadelphia Phillies defeat Atlanta Braves 4-2 to bag 100th win – MLB Update
The Philadelphia Phillies overcame the Atlanta Braves 4-2 on Monday, September 26 at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia.
This was Philadelphia’s 100th win of the season and with two games remaining in the season, a perfect record will enable them to register the most wins in a single season by a Major League team.
Prior to this game, the Phillies had lost eight of their previous nine games, but manager Charlie Manuel’s decision to revert to a regular line-up in a bid to snap the losing-streak paid off.
"A hundred looks better than 98," manager Charlie Manuel said. "If I had my way, we'd win more than that. That's -- what would you say? -- a benchmark."
Although the Phillies have already been crowned as NL East Champions and have ensured their trip to the post-season, they did not let their game deteriorate against a strong Braves outfit. A win here would have given Atlanta an upper-hand in the Wild Card
race. However, they continue to hold a one-game lead after St. Louis Cardinals failed to win their respective game.
Chipper Jones gave the home team a memorable start with a home-run down left-field to gain a one-run lead in the first inning. Alex Gonzalez then drove in a double to right-field to allow Matt Diaz a run and subsequently double the lead for the Braves.
Cliff Lee, after having lost his previous start, came back strongly to win his last start of the season. Lee pitched four scoreless innings after giving away two runs in the first two to keep the Braves at bay.
Jones, appreciating Lee’s pitching, clarified that Philadelphia won more because of their lethal pitching. The Braves were not allowed a single scoring opportunity after the first two innings, raising questions on the team’s ability to hit against a quality
pitching outfit.
Phillies scored their first run in the fourth inning when Hunter Pence scored on Placido Polanco’s single before Jimmy Rollins homered in the fifth to level the score and rekindle contention. Shane Victorino then added a run each in the sixth and eighth
inning respectively to impose a two-run lead on the Braves.
Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson then pitched a perfect inning each in the depth to safely see the Phillies through.
Philadelphia leads the three-game series 1-0.
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