Phils Lose Game & Division Lead

Chipper Jones drove in three runs, and Odalis Perez allowed two earned runs as the Atlanta Braves moved into first place in the NL East with a 10-4 victory over the slumping Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.

The Braves, who trailed the Phillies by eight games on June 1, have won six straight, sweeping the New York Mets and Philadelphia on the road. The nine-time defending division champs are in first place for the first time since beating Cincinnati on opening day. The Phillies, who tied the Chicago Cubs for the worst record in the majors last season, are 7-16 since topping out at 35-18 on June 1 and now trail the Braves by a half-game.

Perez (6-5) gave up three hits, struck out four and walked two in five innings. He allowed four runs, but two were unearned because of errors by Chipper Jones.

The Phillies took a 1-0 lead in the first on a fielder`s choice groundout by Bobby Abreu that scored Jimmy Rollins, who had reached on Jones` throwing error.

But Jones tied it at 1 by leading off the second with his 21st homer -- a shot to deep center off Randy Wolf (4-9).

Andruw Jones` ground-rule double scored Mark DeRosa to give the Braves a 2-1 lead in the third. Chipper Jones followed with a sacrifice fly, scoring Rafael Furcal to make it 3-1. After Brian Jordan was hit by a pitch, Bernard Gilkey drove in Andruw Jones with a sacrifice fly for a 4-1 lead.

Atlanta got three more runs off relievers Amaury Telemaco and Ricky Bottalico in the sixth. DeRosa forced in a run by getting hit by a pitch from Bottalico with the bases loaded. After a fly out, Andruw Jones and Chipper Jones both walked to force in runs.

Wolf allowed four runs and five hits in five innings. The left-hander is 0-5 with a 7.71 ERA in his last five starts.

Scott Rolen`s run-scoring single and Travis Lee`s pinch-hit two-run single cut the deficit to 7-4 in the sixth. But Brian Jordan made a nice, sliding catch on Gary Bennett`s liner to end the inning and leave two runners on base.

Game notes:
Braves 2B Quilvio Veras left while batting in the third after slightly spraining his right ankle. DeRosa batted for Veras and singled on the first pitch he saw, starting a three-run inning. ... Pat Burrell was 9-for-15 with two homers and 27 RBI with the bases loaded before striking out against Steve Reed in the sixth. ... Chipper Jones is 13-for-29 with one homer and six RBI against the Phillies this year. ... Keith Lockhart hit a pinch homer in the eighth.

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News (AP)