Monday, May 16, 2011

Bats falter as Braves take the series

The bats once again failed to support Roy Halladay as the Phillies fell 3-2 in yesterday's game in Atlanta, dropping two out of three to the Braves.

Tough break for the Phils who opened the series with a 5-4 victory on Friday.

Joe Blanton pitched a decent game on Saturday after allowing home runs to the first two batters he faced, but the Phillies couldn't rally to take him off the hook in a 5-3 loss.

John Mayberry accounted for the Phillies' runs yesterday, slugging a game tying two-run shot off Tim Hudson. But Dan Uggla got the best of Halladay, leading off the bottom of the eighth with a solo shot to put the Braves ahead for good.

Mayberry is certainly making a case for more playing time. He's only gotten 44 at bats this season, but he's hitting .295 with a .415 OBP and a .500 slugging percentage. He has two home runs, seven RBI, three doubles, nine walks, ten strikeouts and two stolen bases.

He may not be an everyday player, but he's been far more productive than a struggling Ben Francisco and Raul Ibanez. Toward the end of the year, we may be seeing a lot more of Mayberry and Domonic Brown occupying the corner outfield spot.

The Phils open a brief two game road series in St. Louis to take on the Cardinals tonight.

Cliff Lee (2-3 3.78) is hoping to finally get some run support tonight as he opposes Jake Westbrook (2-3 6.92)

Roy Oswalt (3-1 3.33) makes his return to the mound tomorrow against the red hot Jaime Garcia (5-0 1.89).

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