FINAL SCORE: Phillies 2-0 Braves
Papelbon saves it! Phillies win it.
LAST CHANCE FOR ATLANTA-- Papelbon in the bullpen. The chops start
Runner on 1st-- 1 OUT Rollins at bat-- Double play--- Rollins lines to 2nd base
------------------TOP 9TH--------------
2 OUTS Fly ball to right--- OUT! 3 OUTS
1 OUT- Chris Johnson at bat-- OUT!
Uggla gets under one. Cliff Lee still in there
MID 8th-------------
Varvaro in to pitch. Phillies go in order.
-------------END 7TH----------------
Freeman misses a home run that was caught in the wind. 2 OUTS B.J. at bat-OUT
---------------Braves batting--------------
2 OUTS- Young at bat- Hits it in the gap. B.J. Upton runs it down
Howard almost hit a homer. UPTON with the grab.
-------------END OF THE 6TH------------
Braves can't get anything rolling.
Phillies come up to bat-- Braves pitching retire Phillies
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Braves need some runs- And they go 1,2,3
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Top of 5th--- Medlen has settled down.
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Upton gets on first and doesn't get anywhere.
-------------------MIDDLE of 4TH--------------------
Medlen gets out of it. Howard grounds out
Runner on 1st & 2nd Howard pops up and can't haul it in. How will Howard make them pay? 2-2 count
--Phillies have Rollins on second with 2 OUTS
Lee retires the side
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Call reversed. He's out.
2 OUTS- WHOA! Freeman tags out the runner after a bad throw from Simmons. They called Kratz safe. He clearly tagged Kratz out as he was coming. Umpires confirming.
1 OUT ball almost gone. Again, difficult to hit it out today.
1 OUT- Brown at bat-- reaches
Young grounds out to Uggla. Medlen looks relaxed
------------------END OF 2ND-----------------
FREEMAN records out- B.J. UPTON at bat- Strikes out UGGLA at bat- single to left --- C. Johnson at bat- battling!
-------------------MID 2ND-------------------------
2 OUTS- Howard at bat-- Runners on 1st & 2nd- Lined to Simmons and shift! Inning over. But he got whacked.
BASES LOADED-- 1 OUT-- Utley at bat- SAC Fly Poor throw by Heyward. Can't get Kratz at the plate
MEDLEN IS PITCHING HORRIBLY! Simple as that.
1 OUT Rollins at bat- Runners on 2nd & 3rd- Revere steals second- WALK
2-1 the count
0 OUTS BASES LOADED-- Revere with grounder. Should have been double play. Uggla can't get grip.
Here it is. Phillies have runners on 2nd & 3rd-- 0 OUTS Lee at the plate- Base on Balls
Lee WALKS!
3-2 might have swung at ball four.
3-1 the count to Lee!
----------------------------------END OF THE 1st------------------------
For the firs time this season, Braves don't score in the first inning.
2 OUTS J. UP at bat-- Shallow flyball. OUT
3-2 pitch high and outside. The last thing Phillies want is Freeman at bat with a man on.
TIME called by J. UP
2-2 Lee misses low
1-2 Lee pounding the outside corner
1 OUT- Heyward at bat-- Hustle down the line. OUT
2-2 the count. Lee's plan is to hammer Heyward inside.
Lee on the mound-- Simmons at bat- grounder to Lee. Lee flips casually to first base.
Foul ball again
Foul ball
2-2 oooh! Outside corner strike called. Looked pretty outside.
2-1 breaking ball misses inside
1-1 barely misses inside with pitch.
It's 41 degrees by the way in ATL, GA tonight.
Phillies had their turn. Braves coming up to bat. Medlen threw 27 pitches. He should be warmed up and ready to go in the second inning, unless the Braves decide to rally in this bottom half of the inning.
-------------------------MID of 1ST----------------------
2 OUTS BASES LOADED- Brown at bat-- groundout to second.
1-2 pitch in the dirt. Smart pitch. Brown doesn't bite.
Pitch out of the zone. Check swing. Foul ball
Foul ball. Barely stays alive. That was the out pitch
0-2 fouls it off once again. Medlen with 23 pitches in the first inning
No patience. Swings and fouls pitch off
2 OUTS Runners on 1st & 2nd- Young at bat- WALK
3-1 the count. Rollins steals third base. Medlen threw a cookie back to the mound and Rollins left. Wow. What a veteran.
Can he finally make Braves pay? He's struggled in this series driving in runners
1-0 breaking ball upstairs. Not good signs as he's keeping the ball up.
2 OUTS Runner on 1st- Howard at bat- Singles through the shift
Good move by Medlen to first! He uses those quick feet to dance salsa too. A ritual he practiced with Martin Prado.
1-0 the count
The air seems to be knocking everything down with th eheavy cloudy skies
1 OUT Utley at bat- Runner on 1st-- Can Justin Upton make the play! YES! He doesn't mess up like brother B.J.
2-0 the count on Utley
Rollins at bat- 1 OUT- B.J. Upton can't make the catch! But he had the ball. What happened?
Full count
Medlen throws a tailing two-seamer to Rollins and doesnt get the call! Count 2-2
Revere retired on grounder to Chris Johnson
The Atlanta Braves face the Philadelphia Phillies in what could be a season open sweep in Turner Field. The Braves are rolling, their offense is slugging and they can sweep the Phillies with a victory tonight. If you can't watch the game or would like to follow the live blog, stay here with us as we will bring you a play-by-play of the action.
Let's look at the pitching matchup.
It's Kris Medlen vs. Cliff Lee. Both have proven to be superb pitchers, though Medlen is attempting to prove that he's the real deal and 2012 wasn't simply a mistake. Last season, Medlen outpitched everybody. For the Braves, Medlen was like a sign of hope and optimism. They won over 20 consecutive games whenever he was on the mound. He went 10-1 with a 1.57 ERA striking out 120 batters in 138 innings pitched.
His opposition, Lee, couldn't get run support in 2012. He only won six games despite poisting a 3.16 ERA in 211 IP with 207 strikeouts. The Phillies simply didn't score enough runs for Lee and his record suffered. Only a 6-9 record in 30 starts? That is not a good sign.
Lee will have to face a red hot Braves team that has been tearing the face off the baseball. The Braves have totaled six home runs in their first two games while scoring 16 runs. Justin Upton has smacked two already in his debut with the Braves and Freddie Freeman has driven in seven runs.
The matchup is set. The players are on the field. For the latest updates, refresh the page repeatedly and scroll to the top of the article.
Can the Braves pull of the sweep? Can the Phillies get their offense going? Let's find out together.
