Philliesflow.com

It was ugly take two last night as the Phils fell to the Astros 5-2. The Phils made two errors in the game and got all their offense on two swings of the bat, solo home runs by Pence and Ruiz.

In the first two games of the series, Brett Myers and JA Happ, two pitchers who have struggled this season, have held the Phils to two runs over 14 innings. The Phillies, meanwhile, have been awful. Looking sloppy and tired they have slogged through the first two games against one of the worst teams in baseball and lost them both.

The game was also notable because Cole Hamels was again hurt by the long ball. Clint Barmes delivered the biggest swing of the game, a three-run homer off of Hamels in the fourth. The homer was preceded by a Howard error, but the fact that Hamels gave up another big home run seems like a bigger deal than the Phils presumably temporary sloppy play in the field. From the beginning of the season to the end of July, Hamels allowed eight home runs in 152 innings (0.47 home runs per nine innings). Over his last seven starts he has allowed seven in 47 innings (1.34 home runs per nine). Over his last three starts he’s allowed five home runs in 21 innings.

The Phillies are 94-51 on the year after losing 5-2 to the Houston Astros last night. The Phils have lost three in a row, but still lead the NL East by 11 games. They have 17 games left to play and a magic number of one to reach the post-season and a magic number of five to win the division.

Hamels got the start for the Phillies and went five innings, allowing five runs on nine hits and a walk. Three of the hits went for extra-bases, two doubles and a home run. He struck out six.

Hamels got Jason Bourgeois to ground to Rollins for the first out of the bottom of the first. Clint Barmes was next and he doubled to left. JD Martinez followed that with another double to left, scoring Barmes to put the Astros up 1-0. Carlos Lee followed with a single to right that pushed Martinez to third before Hamels hit Matt Downs with a pitch to load the bases. Hamel struck Chris Johnson out swinging at a 3-2 pitch for the second out. Jason Michaels was next and he hit a ground ball to third with Polanco going to Martinez to force Downs and end the inning.

Big strikeout for Hamels for the second out with the bases loaded, which helps limit the damage to a single run.

He got Humberto Quintero on a fly ball to left for the first out in the second and struck pitcher JA Happ out for the second. Bourgeois singled to center and stole second before Hamels struck Barmes out swinging to end the inning.

Matt Downs singled to center with two outs in the third, where the ball went through Mayberry legs for an error that left Downs at third. Johnson grounded to Hamels to leave him there.

JB Shuck singled to right to start the fourth with the score tied at 1-1. Shuck stole second before Hamels struck Quintero out for the first out. Happ was next and he hit a ground ball to first that Howard didn’t handle. The Phils still might have gotten Happ at first, but Hamels was late to cover and the Astros had men on first and third with one out. Bourgeois singled to left, Shuck scored (2-1) and Happ took second. That brought Barmes to the plate and he delivered the swing of the game, hitting the first pitch he saw from Hamels out to left-center. 5-1. Hamels got Martinez and Lee behind Barmes to end the inning.

Second error in two innings for the Phils, but the real problem is the three-run homer that Hamels allowed to Barmes. The error did cost the Phils a run ahead of the homer, but even with the out Barmes would still have hit a two-run homer if everything else went the same way.

Hamels walked Downs to start the fifth. Johnson flew to center for the first out before Shuck moved Downs to second with a single to right. Hamels struck Quintero out again for the second out and Happ flew to Mayberry to leave both runners stranded.

Herndon set the Astros down in order in the sixth and again in the seventh.

Great outing for Herndon, who now has made two appearances in which he has thrown three scoreless innings since his 69-pitch outing on September 4.

Schwimer pitched the eighth. Shuck led off with a single and Quintero followed that with a single that moved Shuck up to second. Right Angel Sanchez hit for the pitcher Fernando Rodriguez and bunted. Polanco fielded the bunt and went to third, where Shuck was forced for the first out. Bourgeois flew to right for the second out before Schwimer hit Barmes with a pitch, loading the bases. Martinez flew to right to leave them loaded.

Two hits and a hit batter in the inning for Schwimer. That’s also two scoreless appearances in a row for him.

Schwimer threw 21 pitches in the game and Herndon threw 17. Neither has pitched more than one day in a row.

The Phillies lineup against lefty JA Happ went (1) Rollins (2) Polanco (3) Pence (4) Howard (5) Mayberry (6) Francisco (7) Ruiz (8) Martinez. Victorino finally gets a much-needed day off with Mayberry in center. Francisco plays left with Ibanez on the bench against the lefty. Martinez at second with Utley sidelined — Orr is the other choice, but he’s not a great option against a lefty.

The Phils went in order in the first.

They were down 1-0 when they hit in the second. Mayberry doubled to left with one out. Francisco popped to third for the second out. Ruiz got ahead 2-0, but grounded to short 3-1 to leave Mayberry at second.

The Phils went in order in the third.

With one out in the fourth, Pence hit an 0-1 pitch out to left-center, tying the game at 1-1. Howard walked behind him. Mayberry struck out swinging for the second out before Francisco moved Howard to second with a single. Ruiz grounded to short to set the Phillies down.

The Phils were down 5-1 when they hit in the fifth. Martinez and Hamels went down to start the inning before Rollins singled to right. Happ walked Polanco and Pence on ten total pitches, loading the bases for Howard. Howard hit a 3-2 pitch well to left, but a jumping Martinez caught it at the wall to turn the Phillies away.

Almost a big swing for Howard against a lefty. He’s hitting 230/291/358 against lefties for the season.

Ruiz walked with two outs in the sixth, but Martinez grounded to short behind him.

Right Fernando Rodriguez struck out Victorino and Rollins as he set the Phils down in order in the seventh.

Victorino was double-switched into the game in the bottom of the sixth. Would like to see him get more rest. I’d guess Manuel is thinking that he’ll get it after the Phillies lock up the division, but I kind of wish he would get it now.

Rodriguez was back to strike out Pence and Mayberry in a 1-2-3 eighth.

Righty David Carpenter started the ninth for Houston. Bowker hit for Schwimer and struck out looking for the first out. Ruiz followed and hit a 2-2 pitch just out to right, cutting the lead to 5-2. Orr hit for Martinez and popped to short for the second out. Victorino struck out swinging to end the game.

Glad to see Manuel knows that Bowker is on the team. Bowker is now 0-for-5 with four strikeouts with the Phils.

Rollins 1-for-4. 2-for-8 since returning to the starting lineup.

Polanco 0-for-3 with a walk. 0-for-his-last-7.

Pence 1-for-3 with a walk and his 20th home run of the year. 400/462/743 (14-for-35 with four walks, four doubles, a triple and two home runs) over his last 39 plate appearances.

Howard 0-for-3 with a walk and a long fly ball. He’s 3-for-his-last-19 with two home runs.

Mayberry 1-for-4 with two strikeouts and an error. 200/293/343 over his last 41 plate appearances.

Francisco 1-for-3. 7-for-his-last-13 with two walks. He only has 26 plate appearances since July 23 but is hitting 364/423/455 in those plate appearances. 277/367/361 n his last 99 plate appearances since May 28.

Ruiz 1-for-3 with a walk and a home run. 13-for-his-last-37 with seven walks, a double and a home run (351/455/459 over 45 plate appearances).

Martinez was 0-for-3. He’s 2-for-his-last-22 with two singles. I feel like I’m kind of out of words on this one.

Roy Halladay (17-5, 2.44) faces righty Bud Norris (6-9, 3.78) this afternoon. Norris has been very effective against righties this year, but lefties have had more success. Righties have hit just 208/281/346 against him while lefties have put up a 287/357/478 line. He’s tailed off a little towards the end of the year, throwing to a 4.86 ERA over his last eight starts. Over his last 11 starts he’s given up 12 home runs in 64 1/3 innings, which is too many (at that rate he’d allow about 37 over 200 innings). Halladay faced Houston on opening day, holding them to a run over six innings.

IronPigs up 1-0 over Columbus after winning game one of the five-game series 5-2. Brandon Moss hit a three-run homer in the first and Mathieson got the start and the win for the Pigs.

Matt Gelb tweets that Domonic Brown, 1-for-4 in game one of the series, may be back with the Phils when it’s over.

Kendrick looking forward to returning to start on Thursday.

JA Happ is the most recent former Phil to shut the team down. Last night he got the win as he held the Phillies to a pair of runs over 6 1/3 innings. For the Phillies it’s the sixth time in seven games that they have scored two runs or less.

Hunter Pence homered off of Halladay in the fourth to put the Astros up 1-0, but Werth tied things up with a solo shot of his own in the fifth. A Michael Bourn homer gave Houston a 2-1 lead in the sixth, but the Phils got even again in the bottom of the inning on an RBI-double by Polanco. The Phils missed big chances to add more runs in both the sixth and seventh — in the sixth Utley popped to second with one out and a man on third and Francisco was picked off of third base to end the seventh. It cost them, too, because the Astros managed to pull ahead 3-2 with a run in the seventh on a double and a single and the Phils didn’t manage to plate another run in the game.

The Phillies are 70-56 on the season after losing to the Astros 3-2 last night. They have lost three in a row and five of their last seven. The division-leading Braves have been just as bad — they’ve also lost three in a row and five of their last seven and allowed the Phils to stay 2 1/2 games behind in the division. In the same way, the Giants and Cardinals haven’t taken control of the Wild Card race despite the slump for the Phils. The Phillies remain tied with the Giants in the chase for the Wild Card with St Louis a game back. San Francisco is 4-6 over their last ten games and the Cardinals are 3-7.

Halladay got the start for the Phillies and went seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits. Three of the hits went for extra-bases, a double and two home runs. He struck out six and the Phillies lost a game he started for the first time in seven outings.

Halladay was perfect through three and started the fourth with the game still scoreless. He got the first two hitters to start the fourth before Hunter Pence hit a 2-0 pitch out to left center field, putting the Astros up 1-0. Halladay struck Carlos Lee out behind Pence for the third out.

Chris Johnson started the fifth with a single, but Halladay got Brett Wallace to hit into a double-play behind him. Humberto Quintero followed that with a single before Tommy Manzella grounded to third for the third out.

The game was tied at 1-1 when Halladay started the sixth. He got Happ to pop to third before Michael Bourn homered to right to put Houston up 2-1. Halladay struck out Anderson Hernandez and Pence behind Bourn to set the Astros down.

The Phils tied the game up in the bottom of the sixth. Halladay got Lee on a fly ball to center for the first out in the seventh before Johnson doubled to right. Wallace popped to Sweeney at first for the second out. Quintero was next and he singled to left, scoring Johnson to put Houston up 3-2. Halladay struck Manzella out for the third out.

Contreras threw a 1-2-3 eighth. He was pitching for the second straight day after throwing 15 pitches in Tuesday’s game. He has allowed one run in 11 2/3 innings over his last 13 appearances.

Durbin threw a 1-2-3 ninth, also pitching for the second straight day. He threw 21 pitches on Tuesday.

Sixteen pitches last night for Durbin and 14 for Contreras. If either of them pitched this afternoon it would be for the third straight day. Herndon is almost surely unavailable today after throwing 50 pitches on Tuesday.

The Phillies lineup against lefty JA Happ went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Polanco (4) Utley (5) Werth (6) Sweeney (7) Francisco (8) Ruiz. Sweeney and Francisco in the lineup against the lefty with Howard and Ibanez on the bench. Victorino moves up to second in the order with Polanco and Utley dropped down.

The Phils went in order in the first.

Utley walked to start the second. Werth struck out behind him for the first out before Sweeney hit into a double-play.

The Phils went in order in the third.

Down 1-0 in the fourth, Victorino drew a one-out walk. Polanco struck out and Utley lined to right to leave him stranded at first.

Werth lined a 1-0 pitch out to left to start the bottom of the fifth, tying the game at 1-1. The Phils went in order behind him.

The Phillies trailed 2-1 when Halladay started the sixth with a single into center. Rollins flew to left for the first out before Victorino moved Halladay to second with a single. Polanco was next and lined a 2-1 pitch into left and over the head of Lee for a double. Halladay scored from second, tying the game at 2-2, and Victorino went to third. Utley popped to second for the second out and Werth grounded out to leave the runners stranded at second and third.

No RBI for Utley with one out and a man on third.

The Phils were losing 3-2 when Sweeney started the seventh with a single into center. Francisco was next and grounded to third, with Sweeney forced at second for the first out. Ruiz moved Francisco to second with a single to left before Ibanez flew out to center. Francisco tagged and took third on the ball hit by Ibanez, but Quintero picked him off of third after pitcher Mark Melancon delivered a 2-2 pitch to Rollins.

That would have been a fantastic time not to get picked off of third.

Brandon Lyon set the Phillies down in order in the eighth.

He was back for the ninth and struck out Utley and Werth to start the inning. Howard hit for Sweeney against the righty and delivered a two-out single into center. Francisco was due to hit for the Phils and Manuel called on Brown to hit for him. Lyon struck Brown out swinging at a 1-2 pitch to end the game.

Rollins was 0-for-4 in the game.

Victorino 1-for-3 with a walk.

Polanco 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Utley was 0-for-3 with a walk. He had a big at-bat in the sixth with a runner on third and less than two outs and he flew to the second baseman in short right field with the runner holding third. He’s 7-for-31 since his return with six singles and a double.

Werth was 1-for-4 with a walk and his 17th home runs of the year. He has hit 359/447/558 over his last 150 plate appearances.

Sweeney was 1-for-3 with a single. He’s hitting 243/270/317 in 37 at-bats for the Phils for the year.

Francisco 0-for-3 and was picked off of third in a big play in the seventh. He’s 2-for-his-last-17 (118/167/235).

Ruiz 1-for-3.

Kyle Kendrick (8-6, 4.58) faces lefty Wandy Rodriguez (9-12, 4.00) this afternoon. Kendrick has been hit hard in two of his last three starts, pitching to a 6.32 ERA in those outings while opponents hit .348 against him. He still can’t get lefties out — they are hitting 321/380/566 against him for the season. On the plus side, the Phillies have scored about 5.75 runs per game in the games he’s started this season. That’s a big part of the reason they’re 14-10 in his games and just 13-13 when Hamels starts. Rodriguez has allowed two earned runs or less in six starts in a row, throwing to a 1.09 ERA and an 0.92 ratio in those outings while striking out 48 in 41 1/3 innings.

Roy Oswalt’s first start as a Phillie turned out to be more memorable for the number of runs that the Phillies allowed than for the number they scored. Oswalt struggled and the Phils fell 8-1. Still, it’s been a pattern this season that the Phils have trouble scoring runs when they send their best pitchers to the mound.

The chart below shows the number of games started by each pitcher for the Phils this year, the average number of runs the Phils have scored in those games, the average number of runs the Phils have scored in the games when that pitcher wasn’t starting and the difference between the two:

For example, Halladay has made 22 starts for the Phillies this season. In those starts the Phils have scored about 4.14 runs per game. In the games the Phillies have played when Halladay did not start they scored about 4.84 runs per game. 4.14 minus 4.84 is -0.71.

As has been pointed out before, Halladay and Hamels get little support. Each have made 22 starts this season. The Phillies have scored two more runs in the starts by Halladay than they have in the starts by Hamels. They’ve averaged 4.09 runs in the games the pair has started and 5.13 runs in the games they haven’t.

On the other hand, the bats show up in force with Kendrick on the mound. The Phils have scored nearly six runs per game in his 20 starts. They have also scored more than five runs a game for Blanton and Happ. In the 40 games that Kendrick, Blanton or Happ have started for the Phils the team has scored 5.55 runs per game. In the 65 games they haven’t started the Phils have scored 4.17 runs per game.

Given that there are approximately two people on the planet named Roy who can pitch better than Cole Hamels, you have to wonder what Cole thinks of having both of them on the Phillies and pushing him to the third slot in the rotation. Maybe he doesn’t care at all. Whether he does or not, though, he sure was fantastic yesterday. Hamels allowed a single and a walk over eight shutout innings. It almost wasn’t good enough for a Phillies team struggling to score runs, but Polanco delivered a solo home run in the top of the eleventh and Werth came through with an RBI-double four batters later to get the Phils out with a 2-0 win.

Hamels wasn’t the only pitcher to have a good day. The Phils are counting on Madson and Durbin to bring some stability to the bullpen coming off of injuries. They did just that yesterday as they combined to throw an inning and two-thirds of perfect relief late in the game.

The Phillies are 49-46 on the season after beating the St Louis Cardinals 2-0 in eleven innings yesterday afternoon. The Cards take the series three games to one. The Phils end their eight game road trip at 2-6. They are back in second place in the NL East, seven games behind the Braves.

Hamels got the start for the Phils and went eight shutout innings, allowing a single and a walk. He struck out seven and dropped his ERA on the year to 3.40.

He was perfect through the first four innings, striking out the first five batters he faced.

Matt Holliday singled to left to start the fifth with the game still tied. Allen Craig was next and he popped a ball behind short. Rollins and Victorino converged and Victorino made a nifty sliding catch to record the out. Holliday was way off base and doubled-up easily. Yadier Molina was next and hit a ball to right. Werth came up with the second dazzling defensive play in two batters for the Phils, sliding to catch the ball and holding on with his bare hand to record the third out.

Hamels threw a 1-2-3 sixth. He got another nice defensive play in the inning as Howard made a nifty play on a foul ball hit by Wainwright for the second out.

He set St Louis down in order again in the seventh.

He got the first two in the eight before Molina drew a five-pitch walk. Brendan Ryan was next and Hamels struck him out swinging to end the inning.

Madson threw a 1-2-3 ninth. Hamels had thrown 97 pitches.

Romero started the tenth with Ransom at second after Dobbs hit for Valdez in the top of the inning. He got Rasmus on a ground ball to first and Durbin came in to pitch to righty Albert Pujols. Pujols blasted a ball foul before Durbin struck him out swinging 3-2. Durbin got Holliday on a check-swing roller back to the mound.

Lidge pitched the eleventh with a 2-0 lead. Jay walked and stole second before Molina grounded to first for the first out with Jay holding second. Lefty Skip Schumaker hit for Ryan and hit a ball that Lidge handled for the second out as Jay moved to third. Winn flew to left to end the game.

Romero was pitching for the second day in a row and has thrown four of the last five days. Lidge threw 14 pitches in the game. Everyone else was under ten.

The Phillies lineup against righty Adam Wainwright went (1) Polanco (2) Victorino (3) Ibanez (4) Howard (5) Werth (6) Rollins (7) Schneider (8) Valdez. Rollins hits sixth again with Polanco and Victorino at the top of the lineup. Ibanez back in left against the righty after a day off. Schneider catches the day game after the night game. Valdez at second against the righty with Dobbs not at second. Start number 50 on the year for Valdez. This time last year, if you had set the over/under for number of games that Wilson Valdez would start for the Phils in 2010 at 0.5, I would have taken the under. Ditto for November 26, a day after they signed him this winter.

Polanco led off the game with a single. Victorino popped the first pitch of his at-bat up to third for the first out before Ibanez singled into center and Polanco moved to second. Howard grounded out on a ball handled by Miles and the runners took second and third with two down. Werth struck out swinging 3-2 to leave both men stranded.

Schneider doubled to right with one out in the second. Valdez followed with a ground out to second and Schneider moved to third. Hamels grounded to second for the third out.

The Phils went in order in the third.

Howard started the fourth with a single. Werth followed with a ground ball to third and Howard was forced at second for the first out. Rollins was next and singled to right, putting men on first and second for Schneider. Schneider struck out swinging before Werth took third on a wild pitch by Wainwright. Valdez grounded to third to leave the runners stranded.

Polanco singled with one out in the fifth, but Molina picked him off for the second out. Victorino grounded to second to end the frame.

The Phils went in order in the sixth.

Schneider singled with one out in the seventh. Valdez hit into a double-play behind him.

Shawon Dunston, look out. Valdez may have lulled Dunston into a false sense of security with his blazing walk rate to start the second half (he has two), but he’s back on the move (15/6) now. In the interest of full disclosure I should probably point out that there’s no way Valdez catches Dunston now that he has six walks. If he didn’t walk again this season he would need to hit into ten more double-plays.

Victorino lined a ball into left with two outs in the eighth. Holliday had troubling picking it up and the error allowed Victorino to take third. Ibanez struck out swinging 1-2 as tradition dictates.

Howard singled off of lefty Denys Reyes to start the ninth. The Cards brought in righty Jason Motte to pitch to Werth. Werth quickly got behind 0-2 and struck out swinging 1-2. Rollins chopped a ball to first. Pujols fielded, stepped on first and threw to second where Howard was tagged out to complete the double-play.

Motte got Schneider to pop to third for the first out of the tenth. Dobbs hit for Valdez and struck out for the second. Gload hit for Madson and flew to center to end the frame.

Polanco led off the tenth and hit a 1-1 pitch from Kyle McClellan out to left, putting the Phils up 1-0. Victorino grounded to short for the first out and lefty Trever Miller came in to pitch to Ibanez. Ibanez walked and moved to second when Howard followed with a single. Righty Fernando Salas came in to pitch to Werth and Werth delivered a double to left, scoring Ibanez to make it 2-0 with men on second and third. Rollins was walked intentionally to load the bases for Schneider. Schneider hit a ball back to Salas and Howard was forced at home for the second out. Ransom flew to center to leave the bases loaded.

Polanco was 2-for-5 with a home run in the game. 6-for-18 with a triple and a home run in the series. He’s hitting 319/350/441 for the year.

Victorino 1-for-5 with a double yesterday and a big defensive play in the fifth to turn a double-play. 4-for-17 with two doubles in the series. He has one walk in July in 82 at-bats. He’s hitting 253/314/448 for the year and on-basing .265 this month.

Ibanez 1-for-4 with a walk yesterday. 3-for-13 with two walks in the series. 248/331/392 on the year.

Howard was 3-for-5 with three singles in yesterday’s game and 7-for-17 with a walk, two doubles and a home run in the series. 303/360/545 on the season.

Werth 1-for-5 with an RBI double yesterday. 5-for-15 with two doubles and a walk on the year. 279/369/498 on the year.

Rollins 1-for-4 with a walk yesterday. 3-for-17 with a walk in the series. 184/267/276 in July. 227/326/373 for the year. He’s hitting .183 in 123 plate appearances since coming off the DL.

Schneider was 2-for-5 with a double yesterday. Ruiz caught the other three games and went 2-for-9 with a double and a walk.

Valdez was 0-for-3 yesterday and 0-for-8 with a walk in the series. 239/267/367 on the year. Ransom was 1-for-6 with four strikeouts in the series and is 5-for-25 with the Phillies this season.

Roy Halladay (10-8, 2.40) faces Aaron Cook (4-5, 4.56) tonight in Philadelphia as the Phils and Rockies start a four-game set. Coming off of two excellent starts in a row, Halladay was hit hard his last time out as he allowed six runs in six innings to the Cubs. Cook threw seven shutout innings against the Reds in his last start, but has a 5.83 ERA in his ten starts away from home this season.

This article suggests that Moyer’s injury could end his career.

Happ and Kendrick will fill out the rotation this weekend against the Rockies.

The Phillies fired Milt Thompson as their hitting coach and replaced him with Greg Gross.

The Phils got two extra-innings to try to beat the Atlanta Braves last night. The problem isn’t just that the Braves were better than the Phils in those innings, it’s that they have been playing better than the Phillies for a long time now. Since the start of August, 2009, the Braves are 83-60 in the regular season and the Phillies are 77-66. During those games the Braves have scored 133 more runs than they have allowed and the Phillies have scored 78 more runs than they have allowed.

The offense managed three hits last night as they tried to back a solid start from Hamels. Ibanez homered early, Howard tripled in the seventh and Victorino singled with two outs in the bottom of the eleventh with the Phils down by three runs. With the game tied at 3-3 in the seventh, the Phils couldn’t bring Howard in from third with nobody out. Atlanta pulled ahead 4-3 with a single and a double off of Herndon to start the eleventh and extended the lead when Eric Hinske hit a two-run homer off of Zagurski three batters later.

The Phillies are 43-39 on the season after losing to the Braves 6-3 in eleven innings last night. They have lost four of six to start July. In six of their last nine games they have scored three runs or less.

Hamels got the start for the Phils and went seven innings, allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks. Three of the hits went for extra-bases, two doubles and a home run. He struck out eight.

Martin Prado led off the top of the first with a single. Omar Infante was next and he bunted for a single, putting men on first and second for Chipper Jones. Chipper walked to load the bases. Hamels got Troy Glaus to hit into a double-play with Prado scoring to put Atlanta up 1-0. Yunel Escobar flew to right for the third out.

Hamels started the second up 2-1. Matt Diaz led off with a single. Hamels struck David Ross out behind him and got Gregor Blanco to hit into a double-play to set the Braves down.

Prado walked with one out in the third. Hamels got Infante and Chipper behind him.

Diaz doubled with two outs in the fourth. Ross followed him and singled into left center. Diaz scored to tie the game at 2-2. Blanco flew to left for the third out.

Infante singled with two outs in the fifth. Hamels struck Chipper out behind him for the third out.

Escobar singled with one out in the sixth. Diaz followed him with a ground ball to short and Escobar was forced at second. Ross flew to right for the third out.

He struck out Blanco and the pitcher Jair Jurrjens to start the seventh. Prado was next and Hamels got ahead of him, but Prado lined a 1-2 offering out to left to put Atlanta up 3-2. Hamels struck Infante out to end the frame.

Contreras started the eighth with the game tied at 3-3. Chipper and Glaus singled back-to-back to start the inning, putting men on first and third with nobody out. Brandon Hicks ran for Glaus at first. Escobar chopped a ball to third. Castro fielded and threw home and the Phils were able to get Chipper for a critical first out. With men on first and second, Diaz popped out to Valdez for the second out. Lefty Brian McCann hit for Ross and Romero came in to pitch to him. Romero got McCann on a ground ball to Valdez to end the frame.

Big play on the ball hit by Escobar helps the Phils escape men on first and third and nobody out. Contreras wasn’t charged with a run in the game but got lucky. Over his last six appearances he has been charged with six runs on seven hits and two walks over four innings.

Lidge set the Braves down in order in the ninth, striking out Blanco and Hinske.

Herndon needed six pitches to throw a 1-2-3 tenth.

He was back to start the eleventh and gave up a leadoff single to Escobar. Diaz was next and fouled off a bunt attempt before ripping a double into right center that scored Escobar and put Atlanta up 4-3. Zagurski took over for Herndon and struck out the lefties McCann and Blanco for the first two outs of the inning before Hinske hit a 2-2 pitch out to right to make it 6-3. Zagurski struck Prado out for the third out.

Herndon has a 4.08 ERA for the season, which makes it easy to overlook his 1.60 ratio. Opponents are hitting .345 against him for the year. The Phils have a bunch of problems in the pen with injuries they can’t control. Trying to keep Herndon on the roster isn’t one of them.

Zagurski threw 19 pitches in the game. Everyone else was 12 or fewer. Nobody was pitching for the second day in a row thanks to the complete game by Halladay in the first game of the set.

The Phillies lineup against righty Jair Jurrjens went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Ibanez (4) Howard (5) Werth (6) Dobbs (7) Valdez (8) Sardinha. Sardinha catches his fifth straight game in brutal weather. Ibanez continues to hit third with Utley on the DL. Dobbs at third against the righty. Valdez plays second.

The Phils were down 1-0 when they hit in the bottom of the first. Rollins led off with walk and stole second as Victorino struck out. Ibanez was next and hit a 1-2 pitch out down the line in right, putting the Phillies on top at 2-1. Howard and Werth went down behind him to end the inning.

The Phils went in order in the second and third.

The game was tied at 2-2 when they went in order in the fourth.

Dobbs started the fifth with a walk, but Valdez hit into a double-play behind him and Sardinha struck out.

They went in order in the sixth.

Ibanez started the seventh with a walk. Howard was next and hit a ball high off the wall in left that Diaz nearly caught but didn’t get. Diaz couldn’t find the ball right away and it allowed Howard to wind up on third with a triple. Peter Moylan took over for Jurrjens and struck out Werth for the first out. Lefty Jonny Venters came in to pitch to Dobbs and Francisco hit for Dobbs. Francisco flew to Blanco for the second out with Howard holding. Valdez grounded to third to end the inning with the game still tied.

Phils can’t get another run with a man on third and nobody out. Werth saw five pitches in the at-bat, taking three called strikes without swinging the bat.

The Phils went in order in the eighth. Gload hit for Romero and flew to left for the second out.

They went 1-2-3 in the ninth, too.

Castro walked with one out in the tenth and moved to second when Valdez followed and hit a ground ball fielded by the pitcher. Sardinha flew out to left to leave Castro stranded.

They were down 6-3 when they hit in the eleventh. Victorino singled off of Billy Wagner with two outs and took second without a throw, but Ibanez struck out to end the game.

Rollins was 0-for-4 with a walk. He’s 0-for-his-last-12.

Victorino 1-for-5 and struck out twice.

Ibanez 1-for-4 with a walk and a two-run homer.

Howard 1-for-4 with a triple.

Werth was 0-for-4 with a huge strikeout in the seventh.

Dobbs 0-for-1 with another walk. He’s hitting 313/353/563 in 16 July at-bats after a miserable first three months.

Valdez 0-for-4. He’s 1-for-his-last-15 and has a .269 on-base percentage for the year in a career-high 165 plate appearances. Utley getting hurt is almost completely out of the Phillies control — who they give 165 plate appearances isn’t.

Sardinha 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

Jamie Moyer (9-7, 4.13) faces righty Kris Medlen (5-1, 3.01) tonight. Moyer has allowed more than two runs in one of his last seven starts. Medlen is 2-0 with a 2.63 ERA and an 0.95 ratio over his last four starts.

Happ was activated and sent to Triple-A. Madson could be back as soon as today.

The Phils hit the halfway mark of what has been a mostly disappointing season last night. Coming off an ugly series in which they lost three of four to the Pirates, the Phils relied on a two-run shot from Greg Dobbs and another fantastic start from Roy Halladay to get a 3-1 win over the first place Braves.

The Phillies are 43-38 on the year and in third place in the NL East, four games behind the Braves and two behind the Mets.

Halladay got the start for the Phillies and threw a complete game, allowing one run on five hits and a walk. Three of the hits went for extra-bases, two doubles and a home run. He struck out seven and dropped his ERA on the year to 2.33.

He got the first two in the first before Chipper Jones homered to left center, putting Atlanta on top 1-0. Brian McCann followed that with a single before Eric Hinske popped to short for the third out.

Halladay threw a 1-2-3 second and a 1-2-3 third.

McCann doubled with one out in the fourth and moved to third when Hinske hit a ball that Victorino caught deep in center. Halladay struck out Melky Cabrera looking to leave McCann stranded at third.

He threw a 1-2-3 fifth.

Chipper doubled to right with two outs in the sixth, but Halladay struck McCann out looking 2-2 to end the frame.

Halladay had a 2-1 lead when he started the seventh. Hinske led off and walked on a 3-2 pitch, but Halladay got Cabrera to hit into a double-play behind him. Yunel Escobar flew to center for the third out.

Gregor Blanco started the eighth with a bunt single. Switch-hitter Brooks Conrad hit for the pitcher Derek Lowe and Sardinha made a very nice throw to nail Blanco trying to steal before Conrad struck out for the second out. Martin Prado struck out behind him for the third out.

Halladay set Atlanta down in order in the ninth. He threw 93 pitches in the game.

The Phillies lineup against righty Derek Lowe went (1) Rollins (2) Victorino (3) Ibanez (4) Howard (5) Werth (6) Dobbs (7) Valdez (8) Sardinha. Dobbs plays third against the righty with Ransom on the bench. Ibanez hits third with Rollins back leading off and Utley on the DL. Valdez plays second base. Sardinha catches with Ruiz on the DL. The five guys the Phillies need to hit right now go 1-2-3-4-5 in the order.

Ibanez singled with two outs in the first and the Phils down 1-0. Howard grounded to short for the third out.

Werth and Dobbs singled back-to-back to start the second. It put men on first and second with nobody for Valdez and Valdez hit a slow ground ball to third. Chipper fielded and threw Valdez out at first as the runners moved to second and third. Sardinha struck out swinging for the second out and Halladay struck out to leave both men stranded.

No RBI for Sardinha with one out and a man on third

The Phils went in order in the third.

Howard started the fourth with a single, but Werth lined to center behind him for the first out. Dobbs was next and hit a ground ball to second. Howard was forced at second for the second out with Dobbs safe at first. Valdez hit a ball to third. Chipper fielded and threw to second, but Prado didn’t handle the throw for an error. Sardinha walked to load the bases for Halladay, but Halladay struck out swinging 1-2 to end the inning.

Five runners stranded by Halladay in the first four innings.

The Phils went in order in the fifth.

They started the sixth still down a run. Werth singled with one out. Dobbs was next and he popped the first pitch he saw out to right center to put the Phils up 2-1. Valdez and Sardinha both struck out behind him.

The Phils went 1-2-3 in the seventh.

Ibanez and Howard singled back-to-back to start the eighth. Werth was next and hit a ball back to the pitcher. Howard was forced at second for the first out with the runners safe at first and third. With Castro at the plate the Phils tried to execute the squeeze, but Castro missed the bunt completely. Ibanez was tagged out after a brief rundown and Werth went to second with two outs. Werth was running when Castro chopped a ball to third, but Chipper had moved to cover the bag and ball dribbled through to left for an RBI-single. 3-1. Valdez flew to right for the third out.

Rollins was 0-for-4 in the game. He’s 0-for-his-last-8 and 4-for-19 in July. 10-for-49 (.204) since coming off the DL.

Victorino 0-for-4 in the game. He was 5-for-15 with a triple in the series with the Pirates, making him 5-for-his-last-19.

Ibanez 2-for-4 with a pair of singles. He’s 5-for-his-last-16. No walks in his last 29 at-bats.

Howard 2-for-4. After hitting 320/373/650 in June he’s started July by going 6-for-19 with six singles.

Werth 2-for-4 yesterday. He’s 3-for-16 with a double and seven strikeouts to start the month.

Dobbs 2-for-3 with a two-run homer. He’s 6-for-his-last-18.

Valdez 0-for-4 and 1-for-his-last-11.

Sardinha caught the full game for the fourth day in a row yesterday. He was 0-for-2 with a walk. He’s 4-for-14 with a walk, a double and a home run in those four games (286/333/571).

Cole Hamels (6-7, 4.07) faces righty Jair Jurrjens (1-3, 5.59) tonight. Hamels has allowed more than three earned runs in a start once in his last 11 outings. Jurrjens struggled to start the season and hit the DL with a hamstring issue. Since his return he’s made one start, which came on June 30 against the Nats. In that game he allowed a run on six hits and two walks over five innings. He had a terrible start against the Padres on April 12 in which he allowed eight earned runs in 3 1/3 innings — excluding that outing he has a 3.51 ERA and a 1.21 ratio for the season.

This suggests that Schneider could play today and that Madson could be back this week. It also says that Happ thinks he’s ready to return but may not be back till after the break.