Sunday May 25th, 2025 11:25PM

Phillies 4, Braves 3, 10 innings

By The Associated Press
<p>The Philadelphia Phillies didn't like the idea of being in second place.</p><p>One night after falling out of the NL East lead, the Phillies rallied for their 30th come-from-behind win of the season, a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves in 10 innings Tuesday night.</p><p>The Phillies scored two unearned runs in the eighth to tie the game at 3, then went ahead on Bobby Abreu's RBI single in the 10th. Billy Wagner escaped a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the bottom half, retiring Marcus Giles and J.D. Drew to end the game.</p><p>"We had to win this game," Wagner said. "It was a must win."</p><p>With a 4-2 loss on Monday, Philadelphia fell out of the division lead for the first time since June 27. The Braves, winners of 12 straight division titles, were poised to stretch their lead to two games behind another strong outing from Jaret Wright.</p><p>But the Phillies came from behind again _ they lead the NL in that category _ and head home tied for the lead.</p><p>"This was a game we definitely needed," manager Larry Bowa said. "It was a two-game swing."</p><p>In the 10th, Jimmy Rollins led off with a single against Antonio Alfonseca (5-4) and stole second. Chase Utley put down a bunt in front of the plate, but catcher Eddie Perez bobbled the ball to leave runners at first and third.</p><p>Sam McConnell took over for Alfonseca, but Abreu managed a single up the middle to put Philadelphia ahead. Shortstop Rafael Furcal, playing in trying to cut off a run at the plate, dove for the ball but only managed to deflect it just beyond the infield dirt.</p><p>"We had to win this game," Abreu said. "This is a team that never gives up. It has a lot of confidence."</p><p>In the bottom half, Wagner allowed singles to Andruw Jones and Eli Marrero, Mark DeRosa bunted them over and Wagner walked Furcal intentionally to load the bases. Wagner fell behind 3-1 in the count to Giles, then got a broken-bat grounder to third, forcing Jones at the plate.</p><p>Wagner completely shattered Drew's bat on a soft liner to first base, ending the game and giving the Phillies closer his 15th save.</p><p>"I'd like to go out 1-2-3 every time," Wagner said. "But they did a good job of getting one back. They put me in a situation where I had to make pitches. It was fun."</p><p>Tim Worrell (3-3) earned the win with a scoreless ninth.</p><p>Giles hit a two-run homer in the first inning, and Jones added a solo shot in the seventh that pushed the Braves to a 3-1 lead.</p><p>Wright went seven innings, allowing just four hits and a run, but could only watch as the Phillies bounced back in the eighth.</p><p>Furcal bobbled a grounder trying to turn a double play and didn't get anyone. Philadelphia took advantage, tying the game on Jim Thome's sacrifice fly and David Bell's two-out, run-scoring single.</p><p>Wright hasn't lost since May 22, going 5-0 with six no-decisions during that span. But his record (7-5) would be much better if the bullpen had done a better job of protecting leads.</p><p>"After something like that, you've got to forget about it as quick as you can," Wright said. "We have been playing good baseball. We had them on their heels. We just couldn't finish on the right side."</p><p>Things started well. The Braves began the bottom of the first with three straight hits off Eric Milton, but the scorebook was a little misleading.</p><p>Furcal led off with a liner to center that was played horribly by Jason Michaels. The outfielder broke in, stopped as if about to make the catch, then leaped futilely for the ball as it sailed over his head and rolled all the way to the wall. Furcal sped around to third with a gift triple.</p><p>Michaels broke back on the next one but could only watch as Giles' 409-foot drive landed in the center-field stands for his fifth homer of the season. Giles has homered twice since coming off the disabled list last week, having missed 52 games with a broken collarbone.</p><p>Milton allowed just five hits in seven innings, the homers by Giles and Jones accounting for all the runs.</p><p>Rollins' RBI single in the second drove in the lone run off Wright. Abreu started the third with a double, but that would be the last Phillies hit off Wright.</p><p>The right-hander faced the minimum the rest of his stint. The lone baserunner _ Thome reached on a walk in the sixth _ was erased by a double play.</p><p>Notes:@ Drew didn't waste any time keeping his career-best hitting streak alive. Drew doubled in the first, stretching his streak to 17 games. ... Philadelphia is still only 9-19 against the other top three teams in the NL East. ... The Braves announced that IF Jesse Garcia had accepted an assignment to Triple-A Richmond. He was outrighted to the minors last week when Giles came off the DL.</p>
  • Associated Categories: Sports
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