SportsDirect Inc. Ad
SportsDirect Inc. Ad
SportsDirect Inc. Ad
Major League Baseball
Atlanta 6, Philadelphia 2
When: 1:35 PM ET, Sunday, August 2, 2015
Where: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Temperature: 88°
Umpires: Home - Tripp Gibson, 1B - Brian Gorman, 2B - Mark Carlson, 3B - Gabe Morales
Attendance: 24361

PHILADELPHIA -- At home, Atlanta Braves right-hander Julio Teheran has been one of the better starting pitchers in baseball. On the road, he has been one of the worst.

Teheran bucked that trend Sunday, allowing two runs and striking out seven to pick up just his second road win of the season as the Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 at Citizens Bank Park.

Teheran (7-6) got the run support he needed with a two-out, four-run rally in the top of the fifth inning that put Atlanta (47-58) ahead for good.

Teheran's first road win since his first outing of the season on April 6 in Miami helped snap Atlanta's six-game losing streak and marked the end of a 10-game road trip for the Braves, and it also helped them avoid getting swept for the sixth time this season.

The Phillies, owners of the worst record in baseball despite coming into Sunday's game with the best record and best run differential since the All-Star break, fell to 41-65 and will host the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday.

Teheran, who won 14 games in each of the last two seasons but took a 6-6 record and a 4.71 ERA to the mound Sunday, allowed an RBI single to Phillies left fielder Cody Asche in the second and another RBI single to center fielder Odubel Hererra in the fifth but was otherwise solid, allowing just one walk in seven innings of work.

After allowing consecutive singles to catcher Cameron Rupp and pinch hitter Jeff Francoeur to start the seventh, Teheran settled down and got out of his final inning unscathed with three fly ball outs.

"He commanded all his pitches today," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said of his starter. "He pitched in to both sides of the plate and he did a nice job. His secondary pitches were working and his command was really, really good. He wiggled out of a couple of situations there, especially in the seventh inning. He did a nice job, he really did. You can't ask for anything more than that."

Pitching against the Phillies might have been exactly what Teheran needed. In 10 career games and nine starts against Philadelphia, Teheran is 5-3 with a 2.56 ERA, and he has posted a 1.21 ERA against the Phillies since 2014, the best of all major league pitchers who have made at least five starts against the club during that time.

"I think it was my fastball," Teheran said. "I commanded it really well today. I was trying to get the hitters off balance and I think that was the big thing I had today."

Phillies rookie starter Adam Morgan (2-3) allowed baserunners and pitched out of trouble in each of the first four innings before it caught up to him in a four-run fifth inning that ended his afternoon. All four of the Braves' fifth-inning runs came with two outs.

"My last couple outings I feel like I've been battling a lot more and putting myself in those situations," Morgan said. "It increases your focus. I'm not saying I'm not focused at all. But it takes a toll. It takes a toll from the first inning on usually. And it was my fault today not being ready to pitch that first inning. There's no excuse for that."

Morgan walked Braves center fielder Cameron Maybin to start the top of the fifth inning and sent him to second on a balk before retiring Eury Perez and Freddie Freeman on consecutive fly ball outs to right field. The balk, however, proved costly once Chris Johnson scored Maybin from second on an RBI single, and things came apart for Morgan after he walked Jonny Gomes and then surrendered a three-run home run to right to Atlanta second baseman Jace Peterson on a 2-0 pitch that gave the Braves a 4-1 lead.

The Phillies got a run back in the bottom half of the inning to pull within 4-2 with a two-out rally of their own when second baseman Cesar Hernandez hit a ground-rule double and scored on a single by Herrera. Philadelphia was in position to extend the rally after Maikel Franco's single sent Herrera to second, but Freeman made a nice sliding stop of a Ryan Howard grounder and flipped it to Teheran for the final out of the inning.

"We took three out of four. That's a nice little start," Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said. "The story was Teheran was good and Morgan wasn't sharp. He didn't have real good command of his fastball. He got hurt. Teheran, he's been tough on us for the past two years. He changes speeds, he mixed his pitches well. He had a real good slider. He always has a good changeup. He just pitched very well. We got some hits, but didn't string a lot together."

NOTES: Phillies 1B Ryan Howard extended his hitting streak to eight games with a double to deep right field in the bottom of the second inning. He went 2-for-4 and scored Philadelphia's first run of the afternoon. ... After making two trades on July 24 and July 30, Atlanta's 25-man roster currently has just 11 players who were on its 2015 Opening Day roster -- and only four of those players were part of the organization last season. ... Braves SS Andrelton Simmons missed Sunday's game with what the team is calling a sprained right thumb. Although X-rays taken Saturday night were negative, there is no timetable for his return. ... Phillies 2B Chase Utley began a rehab assignment Sunday with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The veteran has missed the last 33 games with right ankle inflammation.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Atlanta   Philadelphia
Julio Teheran Player Adam Morgan
Win W/L Loss
7.0 IP 5.0
7 Strikeouts 1
8 Hits 7
2.57 ERA 7.20
Hitting
Atlanta   Philadelphia
Jace Peterson Player Freddy Galvis
3 Hits 2
3 RBI 0
1 HR 0
6 TB 2
.750 Avg .667
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Atlanta 11 1 15 .297 21 3 6 3 0 0
Philadelphia 10 0 12 .286 15 9 2 0 0 0