Ryan Howard broke a 2-2 tie in the 9th with a solo home run, then Brad Lidge came in for a sticky save, aided by lots of help from his outfielders, and the Phillies took the first of three in Atlanta 3-2. It was a great game, with good pitching from both starters, Jair Jurrjens for the Braves and Joe Blanton for the Phils. In two previous starts this season, Jurrjens had held the Phillies scoreless. Chase Utley put an early end to that with a two-run homer. Joe Blanton, rocky early in the year, just gets better and better with each passing month. He's now pitching how the Phillies envisaged when they brought him in last season. But last year he got tons of support; this year he's often been a hard luck loser.
The outfield defense was sparkling. In the 6th Shane Victorino splattered himself high against the center field wall to rob Brian McCann. That was the dazzling best of several Victorino highlights.
