Braves score 13, Phils lose game and Howard

July 6, 2013

Box Score (From ESPN.com)

By Zach Geibler and Nick Tricome

The Braves retaliated to say the least in game two of a three-game series against the Phillies. 

Phillies fans left with knots in their stomachs and questions in their heads as the Braves offense lit up the scoreboard, winning the game 13-4.

Kyle Kendrick started on the mound, going up against Braves veteran Tim Hudson.

Atlanta's Andrelton Simmons got the Braves' Offense cooking with a home run to lead off the game. Dan Uggla, after hitting a home run the night before, followed with a two-run shot in the second.

Hopes were not quite lost, because in the third inning the Phillies retaliated with their own run; an RBI single by Jimmy Rollins.

For the next five innings, the Braves' offense continued to hit the Phillies pitching staff around, scoring one more run in the fourth inning, two in the fifth inning and a big four-run inning in the seventh, led by a three-run blast by Jason Heyward off of reliever Joe Savery.

The Braves gathered three more runs in the eighth and ninth innings. The last hoorah went to Michael Young however, who hit a two run homer in the bottom of the ninth to lessen the deficit if only by a few runs.

Tim Hudson picked up his fifth win of the season, while Kyle Kendrick, who started the season hot, took the loss. Kendrick is now 7-6 on the year.

Braves catcher Brian McCann continues his hot hitting off the Phillies in his career, going 4-5 and scoring two runs.

The Phillies look to take the series on Sunday and keep the important homestand going strong.

(Image from CSNPhilly.com and USA Today)

Howard's knee lands him on DL

Prior to Saturday night's game, the Phillies placed first baseman Ryan Howard on the 15-day disabled list with inflammation in his left knee.

Laynce Nix filled in at first for Howard, while the club called up Darin Ruf from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Howard has been dealing with knee problems over the past couple months, but now it looks like he hasn't gotten to the point where he can't play through them.

"This afternoon, he came in, tried to take ground balls, tried to hit, wasn't going very well for him," GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told MLB.com. "And he wasn't going to be able to perform. We had said before if it got to the point where his knee got so debilitated and he couldn't perform, go ahead and shut him down."

Howard will have an MRI in the next couple days, according to Amaro. Surgery is a possibility, but not a certainty at this point.

"I think we're going to be pretty conservative with him," Amaro said. "If [Howard's knee] needs surgery -- hopefully it doesn't -- if it needs surgery we'll take care of it. If it doesn't, we'll try to rehab him and get him back."

Howard is hitting .266 with 11 home runs and 43 RBIs, this season. He has a .784 OPS in the 80 games he has played thus far in 2013.

Ruf played 12 games for the Phillies at the end of last season, when he hit .333, with three home runs and 10 RBIs.

With Double-A Reading, Ruf hit .317, with 38 home runs and 104 RBIs in 139 games.

Ruf is a first baseman, but the Phillies experimented with him in the outfield. Unfortunately, he struggled.

Ruf played 82 games this year for Triple A before the call up. He was hitting .266, with seven home runs and 46 RBIs.

In happier news, Dominic Brown and Cliff Lee were named to the 2013 National League All-Star Team.  This is Dominic Brown's first chance to play in the summer classic, whereas Cliff Lee will be making his fourth go around.

(Image from Philly.com)