Atlanta Braves vs. Philadelphia Phillies Series Recap

The Braves leave Philadelphia for the break after losing two of three to their NL East rivals. It was easy to get worked up over this series, but in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't nearly as significant as our emotions may have had us believe. The season series is now tied at six wins apiece and the Braves sit 3.5 back of the Phillies in the NL East standings.

The first two games of the series required extras due to very evenly matched pitching. The Phillies got the win in game one on a Raul Ibanez homer in the tenth inning off of Scott Proctor. It was the Braves turn Saturday evening though, as Alex Gonzalez got a much-needed go ahead RBI single. McCann followed later in the inning with a home run that extended the lead. Sunday's game was a completely different story for the Braves, getting clobbered 14-1.

Brandon Beachy and Tommy Hanson were both great during the series. Beachy went six innings and gave up just two runs, striking out six, and scattering eight hits. Tommy made more of a case for an All-Star berth with a seven inning, four hit, one run outing. Kimbrel got the invite to Arizona on Sunday, instead.

Raul Ibanez crushed the Braves this weekend. He went 5-for-15 and drove in seven runs during the three-game set. Pretty much all of the Phillies crushed the Braves on Sunday though, putting together twenty hits to get fourteen runs. Scott Proctor had a rough going this weekend. Not only did he give up the game-winning homer to Ibanez on Friday, but also four more runs on Sunday. Cory Gearrin's outing on Sunday was equally as unimpressive.

Dan Uggla extended his hitting streak to six games and hit a homer in Saturday's game. During the series, the Bravos lost Chipper Jones to knee surgery. It's not surprising that it had to happen at some point. Fortunately, he almost saw Prado get back to the big league club before electing to have the surgery. Martin should be back by Friday's game following the All-Star Game against the Nationals.