Phillies Recap: August 28, 2009

Philadelphia Phillies 4, Atlanta Braves 2

W - Moyer (12-9), L - Hanson (9-3), S - Lidge (26)

For the second straight start at home, Pedro Martinez threw only a couple of innings. That seems to be a recipe for success, as Jamie Moyer came in, in relief of Pedro, and picked up a win after a couple of rain delays. Behind the power of Ryan Howard's two home runs, the Phillies defeated the visiting Atlanta Braves by a score of 4-2.

Pedro Martinez looked good early on, before the rain came. He was relieved by Jamie Moyer, who threw 4.1 innings to earn the win. Moyer allowed an earned run and struck out five. Despite a threat by the Braves in the eighth inning, the Phillies held the game under control from start to finish. In the ninth, Brad Lidge came in with a spotless frame and added a strike out to pick up his 26th save of the season. He looked like the old Lidge and the fans really got behind him the whole way through the inning.

While Tommy Hanson did return after the first rain delay, he did not survive the second. While he was in, he was touched up for a homer by Ryan Howard. Later in the fourth inning, Howard pounded his second home run of the night, a two-run bomb to dead center field. In the seventh, the Phils added an all-important tack-on run but spoiled an opportunity for more in the eighth. However, for a game played on a slick field, the offense can get a pass as the pitching picked them up.

This was a great win for the Phillies, who got more stellar pitching from the bullpen. The save by Lidge has to be somewhat promising, and Jamie Moyer excelled again in his long-man role. The story of the night though was Ryan Howard, who hit his 36th and 37th homers of the season and now has his batting average up to .272. With the Marlins loss tonight, the Phillies have now opened up an eight game lead over both division foes that are chasing them.