Philadelphia Phillies outclass Atlanta Braves 8-5 as John Mayberry Jr. strikes home run - MLB
Centre fielder John Mayberry Jr. and the relief pitcher Jonathan Papelbon help the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 8-5 at Turner Field, Atlanta, Georgia on August 31, 2012 in the first game of the three match series.
Both team started slowly. By the end of the fourth inning the Phillies had a one run lead. They were looking to experience a couple of high scoring innings and take their lead to an unassailable level. However, their plan was thwarted when the Braves surged
to the rampage in the fifth inning and added four runs.
While trailing by three runs, Philadelphia bounced back immediately by posting three runs in the top of the sixth.
As the ninth inning saw the score tied, the game went in to the tenth.
Under pressure it was not easy to connect hits and score runs for both the sides. Thanks to the timely home-run by centre fielder John Mayberry Jr., the Phillies managed three runs and thus the scoreless bottom of the tenth by the Braves resulted in the
Phillies victory
Mayberry traces the victory to the home-run that catcher Erik Kratz hammered as he believes it turned the momentum on their side.
"You can't say enough about Kratzy's at-bat," Mayberry said. "Kimbrel's obviously one of the best closers in the game. For him to come up with a clutch hit like that was huge and kind of put the momentum on our side."
Meanwhile, the role that Jonathan Papelbon played in the last inning was decisive. He did not give up any run in the tenth as he struck-out two. Throwing a quality inning under pressure explains the perfection that Papelbon has achieved in saving games.
Despite the fact the Phillies won, their starter Roy Halladay was unimpressive. In little more than four innings he gave up four runs and struck-out three.
The Phillies’ manager Charlie Manuel will like to see the players stepping up the way they did on Friday in the upcoming matches.
It will be interesting to see how the Phillies use the current momentum to win the next two games in the series.
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