Rauuuuuuuuuul Walk Off

The beginning of the all important series against the Braves was unfortunately delayed due to rain. But finally after 2 hours, play began with both sides eager to get things going.

The Braves struck first in the second inning when Freddie Freeman singled to center to score Chipper Jones. The Phils responded in the bottom of the inning when Wilson Valdez hit a sac fly to right. The Braves then tacked on another run in the 4th off a Dan Uggla infield single that scored catcher Brian McCann. Once again the Phils responded in the bottom of the inning with a Carlos Ruiz solo homerun to tie the game.

From there it was a battle between Roy Halladay and Brandon Beachy. Aside from the 2 runs they both gave up, both starters were great and did a good job of keeping their teams in the game. After pitching 7 solid innings, Halladay was replaced by Stutes in the 8th. Stutes pitched a scoreless 8th, Antonio Bastardo pitched a scoreless 9th, and Juan Perez struck out the side in the 10th to give the Phils an opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the inning.

Ryan Howard led off the inning with a dramatic fly out to center field in which Braves' center fielder Jordan Schafer made an incredible diving play. With 1 out, Raul Ibanez stepped to the plate ready to do damage. Raul worked the count and eventually crushed a 2-0 fastball into the right field seats to give the Phils a 3-2 walk-off victory.

The Phils bullpen was outstanding and the youngsters really came through tonight to give the Phils a chance to win. Tonight's series opener victory is crucial in an extremely important series. The Phils have the opportunity to really set the tone for the rest of the season, and tonight's victory gives them a great chance to win and possibly sweep the Bravos out of town. The victory also garuntees that the Phils will be in first place in the NL East heading into the All-Star break. Looking ahead the Phillies will send Cliff Lee to the mound tomorrow against Tommy Hanson.