There are some players teams just hate to face. Players that always seem to come through with big hits in big situations. Brian McCann is probably moving up that list of players for the Phillies. McCann homered for the 6th straight game against the Phils while Ben Sheets shut down Philadelphia over 6 strong innings as the Braves won their 3rd straight game 6-1.
The Phillies jumped on Sheets early, plating the first run of the game before an out was recorded. Jimmy Rollins led off with a single against Sheets, and Shane Victorino brought him home with an RBI double for a 1-0 Phillies lead 4 pitches into the game. Fortunately for Atlanta, it was the last lead Philly would hold.
The Braves loaded the bases in the second with two outs when Cole Hamels uncharacteristically walked both Dan Uggla and Paul Janish. That brought up Sheets, who hit a slow bouncer to third base. Fortunately for Atlanta, Mike FonteOHNO (Mike Fontenot) was playing 3rd, and booted Sheets' grounder. Freddie Freeman scored the tying run and all hands were safe. That brought up Michael Bourn who promptly singled past a drawn in (who else?) Fontenot for a 2-1 Braves lead.
The score remained 2-1 until the 5th inning, when Jason Heyward drew a one-out 4 pitch walk. Chipper Jones followed Heyward with a ground-rule double. After Freeman struck out for the second out, Brian McCann lumbered to the plate. McCann took a 1-0 fastball from Hamels and hammered it out to dead centerfield. It was Big Mac's 6th straight game against the Phillies with a homer.
Atlanta tacked on a 6th run in the 6th inning when Martin Prado scored Michael Bourn on a sacrifice fly.
Sheets left the game after the 6th inning, having allowed one run on 6 hits. Sheets struck out 4 and walked one. The outing raised his ERA to a whopping 0.50. Jonny Venters, Chad Durbin, and Christhian Martinez worked the 7th, 8th, and 9th respectively, without allowing a run.
Atlanta takes on Philly again tomorrow at 7:10 PM EST. Joe Blanton gets the ball for the Phillies against Mike Minor.