| SEASON | CAREER |
| W9 | 17 |
| L10 | 15 |
| G28 | 52 |
| IP167.0 | 290.0 |
| BB55 | 96 |
| SO135 | 255 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W10 | 198 |
| L7 | 99 |
| G23 | 401 |
| IP149.2 | 2680.0 |
| BB30 | 550 |
| SO122 | 2056 |
The Philadelphia Phillies picked up a big win by beating the Atlanta Braves in the series opener, and would seem to have the edge again by sending a two-time Cy Young Award winner to the mound.
Roy Halladay , however, hasn't had much success against the Braves.
The Phillies go for a fifth straight win, while Halladay tries for his first victory over Atlanta since 2010 on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park.
A night after finishing with season highs in runs (16) and hits (21) in a win over the New York Mets , Philadelphia (77-74) hit a season-high four homers in Friday's 6-2 victory over the Braves. With St. Louis losing earlier, the Phillies pulled within three of the Cardinals for the NL's second wild-card spot with 11 to play.
"We got to take care of business for ourselves," said Kevin Frandsen , who had one of the homers.
Ryan Howard , Carlos Ruiz and Chase Utley also went deep for the resurgent Phillies, who've won 12 of 15, with all the losses coming to hapless Houston.
Utley and Howard, who were both injured for the first half of the season, have both stepped up lately.
Utley is batting .409 with 11 RBIs and 11 runs in the last 13 contests, while Howard has homered in three straight games. Howard is also 5 for 12 with two homers lifetime against scheduled starter Mike Minor (9-10, 4.31 ERA).
Atlanta (86-65) lost for the second time in three games, but remained six ahead of the Cardinals with 11 contests remaining. Its magic number for clinching a playoff spot stayed at five following Milwaukee's comeback win over Washington.
"We've got enough stress going on in the field. The last thing we need to worry about is if Milwaukee is beating Washington right now," Freddie Freeman said. "You've got to win games and if you don't win games it doesn't matter what's going on in the scoreboard."The Braves seem to have a good shot at a win, given how they've hit Halladay (10-7, 4.03).
In five starts against Atlanta since the start of last season, Halladay is 0-2 with a 5.81 ERA. The Braves are the only opponent he has not beaten among the 18 teams he's faced, and the ERA is his worst against any club in that span.
Chipper Jones is 10 for 20 with three homers and three doubles lifetime against Halladay, while Dan Uggla is batting .333 with three home runs in 33 at-bats and Freeman is 6 for 14 (.429) with two homes.
Uggla doubled twice Friday, and is batting .533 with a homer, four doubles and five RBIs in his last four games in Philadelphia.
Another reason for the Braves to be optimistic about facing Halladay is the eight-time All-Star has not been pitching up to his normal standard lately.
The right-hander is 4-0 in his last six starts, but that has more to do with a 7.75 run support average since he has a 4.70 ERA while opponents are batting .308.
Halladay will be squaring off against Minor for the second time in three weeks, and neither was particularly sharp in the last matchup.
In Atlanta on Aug. 31, Minor gave up four runs and seven hits in five innings, while Halladay allowed four runs and seven hits over 4 2-3 in Philadelphia's 8-5, 10-inning win.
Minor has been sharp since, however, going 2-0 with a 0.48 ERA. Against Washington on Sunday, the left-hander gave up a run and five hits in six innings of a 5-1 victory.
He is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in three starts against the Phillies this season.
@
@
AVG
HRRUNSSBSOBBOBPSLGOPS
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Brandon Beachy | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Michael Bourn | 13 | .308 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .308 | .846 | .538 |
| Matt Diaz | 2 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 1.000 | .500 |
| Juan Francisco | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Freddie Freeman | 10 | .400 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | .364 | 1.064 | .700 |
| Tommy Hanson | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Livan Hernandez | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Jason Heyward | 9 | .111 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | .200 | .311 | .111 |
| Eric Hinske | 42 | .262 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 11 | .289 | .646 | .357 |
| Tim Hudson | 3 | .333 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 | .666 | .333 |
| Chipper Jones | 16 | .500 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .500 | 1.563 | 1.063 |
| Brian McCann | 23 | .391 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | .417 | 1.026 | .609 |
| Mike Minor | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Tyler Pastornicky | 3 | .667 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .667 | 1.667 | 1.000 |
| Martin Prado | 19 | .211 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | .286 | .497 | .211 |
| David Ross | 2 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 1.167 | .500 |
| Dan Uggla | 28 | .357 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 10 | .379 | 1.129 | .750 |
| Jack Wilson | 5 | .200 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | .400 | .200 |
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Roy Halladay | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2.000 | 1.000 |
| John Mayberry | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Hunter Pence | 5 | .200 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .333 | .733 | .400 |
| Placido Polanco | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 | .500 | .000 |
| Carlos Ruiz | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Shane Victorino | 2 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
 Atlanta Braves |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| September 18, 2012 | Paul Janish | Day-to-Day | Shoulder |
| September 15, 2012 | Brian McCann | Day-to-Day | Left game - right hamstring tendinitis |
| August 25, 2012 | Ben Sheets | 15-Day DL | Right shoulder inflammation |
| August 25, 2012 | Ben Sheets | 15-Day DL | Right shoulder inflammation |
| August 10, 2012 | Chipper Jones | Day-to-Day | Back tightness |
| August 01, 2012 | Jair Jurrjens | 15-Day DL | Strained right groin |
 Philadelphia Phillies |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| September 05, 2012 | Placido Polanco | 15-Day DL | Lower back inflammation |
| August 31, 2012 | Raul Valdes | 15-Day DL | Torn meniscus in right knee |
| August 29, 2012 | Cole Hamels | Day-to-Day | Gastrointestinal illness |
| August 29, 2012 | Vance Worley | 15-Day DL | Loose bodies in right elbow |
| August 28, 2012 | Domonic Brown | Day-to-Day | Left game - left knee soreness |
| August 24, 2012 | Brian Schneider | 15-Day DL | Strained left hamstring |
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Another strong start from Mike Minor has the Atlanta Braves one step closer to erasing last year's debacle.
Freddie Freeman hit a three-run homer to back Minor and the Braves roughed up Roy Halladay to move closer to clinching a postseason berth with an 8-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.
The win, coupled with Milwaukee's 10-4 loss to Washington, reduced Atlanta's magic number for securing an NL wild-card playoff spot to three. The Braves were up 8 1/2 games through Sept. 5 last year, but went 9-18 down the stretch and were overtaken by St. Louis on the final day of the season.
"I don't want to hear anything about it," manager Fredi Gonzalez said with a smile.
The Phillies fell four games behind the Cardinals for the NL's second wild-card spot with only 10 games remaining. The five-time defending NL East champions had won four in a row and 12 of 15 to get in the race. They also trail Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the wild-card standings.
Ryan Howard became the second-fastest player to reach 300 homers, but Halladay (10-8) picked the wrong time to have the second-shortest outing in his 376 career starts.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner lasted just 1 2-3 innings, allowing seven runs and five hits. Halladay's shortest start was on Sept. 10, 2006, for Toronto against the Los Angeles Angels , that was because of an injury. He recorded just two outs and left after getting hit on the elbow by a line drive off Garret Anderson 's bat.
Halladay wasn't 100 percent for this start. He said he felt spasms behind his shoulder area on Thursday, but was cleared by doctors on Friday.
"I wish I could blame it on this, but I felt like I should compete," he said. "I just didn't do my job as a pitcher."
Minor (10-10) gave up two runs and two hits in six innings to win his fourth straight decision. The lefty has a 1.09 ERA in four starts this month.
"It's just experience and having a better game plan," he said. "You put things in your memory bank."
The Braves remained 5 1/2 games behind the first-place Nationals, making it likely they'll have to settle for a wild-card berth. Considering last season's collapse, securing any playoff spot is quite the accomplishment. It would have been the biggest September meltdown in baseball history except that Boston blew a nine-game lead during the same month.
Howard connected for the fourth straight game, hitting a towering shot off the brick wall in straightaway center in the fourth. He reached No. 300 in his 1,093rd game. Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner hit his 300th homer in his 1,087th game.
Halladay, who missed nearly two months with a strained lat, didn't look right from the start. He walked Michael Bourn to lead off the game, but picked him off. Martin Prado followed with a single and Chipper Jones hit a two-out single.
Freeman then sent an 0-2 pitch off a billboard on the facing of the second deck in right field. Halladay slammed the resin bag to the ground while Freeman circled the bases.
"The two-out hits were really big," Jones said. "It was a good job by our hitters to take advantage of mistakes."
Halladay has been bad in first innings this year, posting a 5.63 ERA in 24 games. He's allowed 15 runs and 31 hits, including three homers.
It didn't get any better in the second.
Halladay walked two batters, including Prado to load the bases with two outs. Jason Heyward fell behind 1-2 in the count before lining a 78 mph curveball into the right-field corner to clear the bases and make it 6-0.
That ended Halladay's day.
"He didn't have a whole lot," manager Charlie Manuel said. "He had a hard time putting the ball where he wanted it. Just one of those days. Rough day."
Jones greeted Jeremy Horst with an RBI double for a 7-0 lead.
Darin Ruf , who hit 38 homers in Double-A to break Howard's record for single-season homers at Reading, drove in his first career run with a sacrifice fly in the third.
NOTES: Jones' single in the first moved him ahead of Lou Gehrig for 58th on the career hits list with 2,722. He's one hit away from tying Roberto Alomar for fifth place among switch hitters. ... Freeman is 7 for 15 with three homers and nine RBIs off Halladay. ... Prado extended his NL lead to 37 multihit games. ... Bourn was 4 for 38 before a second-inning single. ... Phillies are 8-16 on Saturdays. ... Howard has three homers in 15 at-bats off Minor. ... Cliff Lee (6-7) faces Tim Hudson (15-6) in the series finale Sunday. Hudson is 9-9 vs. the Phillies, including 2-1 this year. Lee is 4-3 vs. Atlanta, 1-0 this season.
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Atlanta Braves