Phils Falter, Lose Chance to Gain on Braves

The Philadelphia Phillies know they now have little margin for error.

Josh Beckett earned his second career win and prevented the Philadelphia Phillies from closing ground on Atlanta in the NL East by leading the Florida Marlins to an 8-3 win Sunday. "We missed an opportunity," Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins said. "We had a chance to go in there one back. It hasn't been easy all year, but we play Atlanta well." The Phillies remained two games behind the Braves in the NL East heading into their three-game showdown in Atlanta starting Tuesday. The Braves lost 9-6 to the Mets.

"A lot of teams would like the opportunity we have, to be two out with three games against the team in front of you," manager Larry Bowa said.

Bobby Abreu hit two home runs for the Phillies, giving him 30 for the year. Abreu, who also has 36 stolen bases, joined Montreal's Vladimir Guerrero as the only players with 30 steals and homers this season.

Beckett (2-1), scratched from his last scheduled start because of a blister on his right middle finger, allowed one run and three hits in six innings of his third career start.

"You can only gain more confidence with more starts, and I'm doing that," Beckett said. "What I've tried to do is show that I belong up here."

Derrek Lee hit a three-run homer against David Coggin (5-7) to break a scoreless tie in the fourth inning for Florida. The Marlins finished 14-5 against Florida this season.

"It would have been nice to beat them a few more times earlier in the season," Lee said. "Games would have meant more if that had happened."

The Marlins chased Coggin in the fifth. Dave Berg hit a one-out double, Cliff Floyd was intentionally walked with two outs, and Preston Wilson reached on an infield single to load the bases.

Coggin walked Mike Lowell, putting the Marlins ahead 4-0. Reliever Nelson Figueroa struck out Kevin Millar to end the inning.

Abreu's 29th homer pulled the Phillies to within 4-1 in the sixth, but the Marlins added three more runs in the sixth on Berg's RBI single, a sacrifice fly by Redmond and a passed ball by Todd Pratt.

"The whole season has been a battle," Phillies outfielder Doug Glanville said. "We're still in a great position. Every game has to be our best from now on. We're still right there."

Notes:
The Phillies were without 3B Scott Rolen, who twisted his ankle in Saturday's win. Tomas Perez started in his place. ... LHP Randy Wolf will start for the Phillies on Tuesday against Greg Maddux and Atlanta. ... Coggin made a barehanded catch of a soft liner from Wilson in the fourth. ... Marlins SS Alex Gonzalez, been bothered by a sore elbow, started for only the second time in the last eight games. He struck out to end the third, then committed an error on a grounder by Abreu to begin the fourth. ... Floyd drew a pair of intentional walks, his 18th and 19th of the year.

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

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Author: 6 ABC - Action News