Phillies Recap: September 19, 2009

Atlanta Braves 6, Philadelphia Phillies 4

W - Vazquez (14-9), L - Martinez (5-1)

The Philadelphia Phillies came out flat tonight. Pedro Martinez never got into a groove and struggled with his command, in his shortest outing that wasn't interrupted by rain. The Braves did a good job tacking on runs in support of Javier Vazquez and they managed to hold off a late-game surge by the Phillies. In the end, the Braves defeated the Phillies and ended their winning streak by a final of 6-4.

For Pedro Martinez, this was not the start he was looking for, after dominating in his last start. He went just three innings, as he battled inconsistency and control issues. The Braves tagged him for three earned runs on seven hits, many of which came with two strikes. However, the Phillies' bullpen was not much better. Chad Durbin came in and allowed the game to get out of hand, as the Braves scored three more runs and put the game out of reach. Unfortunately, for a staff that has been so strong lately, this was not the pitching performance the Phillies were looking for.

The Braves shut down the Phillies' offense for the most of the night, thanks to a strong performance by Javier Vazquez. Vazquez kept the Phillies off balance and off the base paths for seven strong innings. He allowed three hits and three walks, while striking out six. The Phillies didn't score until the ninth inning, when they put four runs on the board and nearly tied the game. Ryan Howard homered again, his 41st on the season, but in the end, it was not enough to dig out of their hole.

This was a tough game for the Phillies. They got nothing going against Vazquez and were out-pitched badly. Their offense showed some heart late with the rally, but they came up short. Their magic number remains at eight, as they lose ground in the division and in pursuit of the best record in the National League. Tomorrow, they will need to bounce back and win the series against a hungry Braves team.