Martin Prado led off the game with a home run and the Braves never looked back, beating the Phillies 5-3 to even their three game series at two a piece.
Shane Victorino had his 15 game hit streak snapped and had to leave the game in the 8th with hamstring soreness. He will miss tomorrow’s rubber game of the series, but Charlie Manuel does not expect he’ll hit the DL.
Braves’ pitcher Jair Jurrjens got the the win for the second time in a week over the Phils. Jurrjens pitched well over the first five innings, actually carrying a perfect game into the sixth. He would allow three runs over the following inning and a third, but the Phillies could only close the gap to 5-3.
Prado, who has been on a tear as of late after a slow start, combined with Nate McClouth for back to back leadoff home runs for what looked like it was going to be a long day for Phils starter Joe Blanton. He would settle down however and keep the Braves off the scoreboard for the rest of his start. However, the Phillies normally solid bullpen this season made a mess of things in the 6th giving up three runs, thanks in part to a controversial call at second base, when umpire Gary Darling called Dan Uggla safe on a force play that appeared to get him.
Then Kyle Kendrick came on and things got ugly. He failed to field a bunt, walked the pitcher and then gave a up a two run single to Prado.
The teams wore uniforms of Negro league teams in celebration of MLB’s civil rights weekend. The Phillies wore the unis of the Philadelphia Stars, while the Braves wore the colors of (and I’m not making this up) the Atlanta Black Crackers.