The Braves had plenty of two-out offense today, starting off the post-Break schedule by making A.J. Burnett's day miserable with nine two-out hits as part of a 6-4 win over the Phillies.
Ervin Santana had some second-inning troubles, starting off the inning with walks to Ryan Howard and Marlon Byrd. A bloop hit by Grady Sizemore loaded the bases with nobody out; Cody Asche's sacrifice fly and Cameron Rupp's single gave Burnett a 2-0 lead. Santana's second inning could've ended much worse than how it started, but a double play prevented further harm.
Atlanta would immediately answer, and in a big way starting with Jason Heyward's ninth homer of the year. Two outs later, four straight hits on four straight pitches led to three runs: Christian Bethancourt singled; Santana blooped a single between Marlon Byrd and Chase Utley; B.J. Upton brought in the tying run with a double (his 500th RBI); Andrelton Simmons quickly untied the game with a two-run single.
The offense continued its two-out barrage in the fifth. Jason Heyward singled home Justin Upton who had doubled; following Chris Johnson's single, Tommy La Stella scored Heyward for Atlanta's sixth run. Burnett was done after five, allowing all 10 of Atlanta's hits.
The Phillies fought back with two in the sixth courtesy of Freddie Freeman's error to start the inning. Chase Utley followed the error with a double, and then Ryan Howard beat the shift with yet another blooper for a two-run single.
That's as far as they'd get. Shae Simmons, Jordan Walden and Craig Kimbrel shut the door on the Phillies to secure the win. Walden received defensive help on a web gem by Heyward in the eighth. Kimbrel struck out two in the ninth to preserve the win, which helped the Braves move back in to sole possession of first place in the NL East.
Win Expectancy