Phillies Fall to Braves 3-1

Coming off of a tremendous pitching performance by Cole Hamels on Monday night, the Phillies took on the Atlanta Braves Tuesday night in the second game of their three-game series with their division rival. Rookie Ethan Martin made his third career start for the Phillies, while Kris Medlen started for the Braves. Martin made his career debut against the Braves on August 2^nd. Martin did not fare well in his debut, giving up 6 runs in 4.1 innings. But, tonight was a new game and Martin was poised to win his second career game after he won his first career game on Thursday against the Chicago Cubs. This was also a bit of a homecoming for Martin, as he was born in Athens, GA and attended high school in the state, as well.

The first inning was troublesome for both pitchers, as Medlen and Martin put men on base. Luckily for both pitchers, neither allowed any runs. The first run of the game came in the bottom of the second inning on a surprising RBI double by Medlen. This was actually not much of a surprise, as Medlen is a good-hitting pitcher, but it is usually always a surprise when the pitcher drives in a run. Nevertheless, the Braves also added to their lead on a two-run homer by third baseman Chris Johnson in the bottom of the third.

Medlen breezed through the next few innings. He retired 15 straight batters at one point in the game. This streak came to an end when Chase Utley doubled in the top of the sixth. Utley was then driven in on a RBI single by outfielder Dominic Brown. This was Brown’s 76^th RBI of the year. He has without a doubt been the Phillies’ most productive player this season.

Not much happened after the sixth inning, as the Braves ended up with the win, 3-1. The Phillies were only held to 6 hits, another bad offensive game for them. Medlen pitched well in this game (7 IP, 1 ER, 5 K) and received his 10^th win of the season. Martin received the loss after going five innings and giving up three runs.

The 2013 Phillies season has been a nightmare. After tonight’s loss, the team is 19.5 games behind Atlanta for the division lead. The team is playing so bad that the Mets (yes, the New York Mets!) are ahead of them in the standings. This season has sure been one to forget and it will soon be over. For the rest of this season, the team should keep sending their young talent out on the field, such as Cody Asche and Darin Ruf, to see what they can do as everyday players. This will get them accustom to the majors and hopefully will give them some confidence in themselves.

The Phillies will play the third and final game of this series on Wednesday against the Braves at 7:10. John Lannan and Brandon Beachy are the probable pitchers. The team will have an off day on Thursday and then start a home series with one of the hottest teams in the majors, the Los Angeles Dodgers.