Phillies Get to Tom Glavine

Travis Lee wanted a good pitch to hit. He was shocked it was that good. Lee hit his first homer and Robert Person pitched six shutout innings Saturday night as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1...

Braves starter Greg Maddux, a four-time NL Cy Young Award winner, hadn`t allowed an earned run in 23 innings before Lee hit a two-out homer in the fourth.

"I was looking for a pitch to hit," said Lee, who lined a 3-1 pitch over the right-center field fence for a 1-0 lead. "I didn`t know what he was thinking. He`s a magician. I knew he didn`t want to walk me. It was a fastball right down the middle."

The Phillies, who tied the Chicago Cubs for worst record in the majors last season, have won two straight and are in first place in the NL East at 10-6.

Maddux (2-1) allowed four runs -- two earned -- and seven hits in seven innings. He has yet to walk a batter in 27 innings and has allowed just six earned runs in his last 67 innings since last Sept. 2.

"It was weird," Maddux said. "I thought the innings I gave up runs I pitched better than when they didn`t score."

Person (2-1) allowed six hits and struck out seven. He left after the first two runners reached in the seventh.

But, with the bases loaded, Wayne Gomes struck out Brian Jordan and Rheal Cormier fanned pinch-hitter Wes Helms to end the inning. Ricky Bottalico pitched the eighth and Jose Mesa allowed an RBI double to Chipper Jones in the ninth.

"I try not to think about it, but I know I`m limited to the smallest amount of mistakes I can make when Maddux is pitching," Person said.

Lee, acquired from Arizona in the Curt Schilling trade, hit just one homer in 180 at-bats with the Phillies last season. This was his first homer in 77 at-bats since last Sept. 21.

"It`s no big deal," said Lee, who is 4-for-11 with two homers off Maddux. "You always want to hit homers, drive in runs, but if I can get on base, get some walks, I can help the team."

The Phillies added an unearned run in the fifth on a botched squeeze attempt by Doug Glanville. Marlon Anderson doubled to start the inning, went to third on a sacrifice by Person and scored when Jones hit him in the back with a throw during a run down after the Braves pitched out on the squeeze try.

Pinch-hitter Rob Ducey added an RBI single and Glanville had an RBI double to make it 4-0 in the seventh.

"We hit the ball harder than they did," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "Sometimes you need a little luck though. We need a couple broken-bat hits."

Person escaped two-out trouble in the fifth by retiring Jones on a nice play by Anderson with runners at first and third. He got out of a jam in the sixth by fanning Maddux with two outs and runners on second and third.

The Phillies` victory ended a tough sports day for Philadelphia fans. The 76ers opened the NBA playoffs with a stunning 79-78 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. The Flyers were eliminated from the NHL playoffs after an 8-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

"I don`t think anybody cared about us today," Phillies manager Larry Bowa joked. "I`m a little disappointed. I want those teams to do good."

Notes:
The Phillies activated OF Brian Hunter off the disabled list and optioned OF Jason Michaels to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre after the game. ... Maddux, who has won 11 straight Gold Glove awards, saved a run with an outstanding defensive play in the second. ... Atlanta has scored just 14 runs in Maddux`s four starts. ... The start of the game was delayed 12 minutes by rain. ... Maddux had won his last 10 decisions in April, going back to 1999. ... Philadelphia`s pinch-hitters are 12-for-25 with 10 RBIs following Ducey`s hit. ... The Braves stranded 14 runners.

(Copyright 2001 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News (AP)