Braves vs. Nationals

The Braves beat Washington 5-0 Saturday, giving Bobby Cox his 2,500th win and putting Atlanta in a tie for the Wild Card. A throwing error by Washington’s third baseman Alberto Gonzalez in the 3rd inning allowed Brian McCann to reach base and Derrek Lee to score, giving Atlanta a 1-0 lead. It remained 1-0 until the 6th inning when the Braves tagged on four more runs. Derrek Lee got things started with a double to score Martin Prado. Alex Gonzalez capped off the inning with three-run home run to make it 5-0. Nationals hitters couldn’t do much against Atlanta starter Derek Lowe.  Washington left 12 men on base and were 0-10 with runners in scoring position.

Lowe got the win for Atlanta, going 5 innings and allowing just five hits while striking out four. Yunesky Maya took the loss for Washington, going 5.1 innings and giving up five runs on eight hits while striking out one.

Mets vs. Phillies

The Mets snapped the Phillies 11-game win streak, beating Philadelphia 5-2. Philadelphia struck first with two runs in the 1st inning thanks to a two-run shot off the bat of Ryan Howard. The score stayed 2-0 until the 7th when the Mets broke through to score five runs in the inning. Josh Thole drove in the first run for the Mets with a single, but the inning’s biggest hit belonged to Lucas Duda. Pinch hitting with the bases loaded, Duda hit a bases clearing double to make it 4-2 Mets. A few batters later, Jose Reyes hit an RBI double to center.

Dillon Gee got the win, going 7 innings and giving up two runs on five hits while striking out five. Kyle Kendrick took the loss, going 6.1 innings and allowing four runs on six hits while striking out four. Hisanori Takahashi recorded his 8th save for the Mets.

Marlins vs. Brewers

The Marlins shut out the Brewers 4-0 to win the third game of the four game set in Milwaukee. Logan Morrison singled home the first run of the game for Florida to make it 1-0 Marlins. It stayed that way until the 7th when Mike Stanton hit a solo shot to left field. In the 8th, Gaby Sanchez hit an RBI single to score Osvaldo Martinez. The Marlins tagged on their final run in the 9th with an RBI double by Martinez.

Chris Volstad went 6.2 innings to get the win. He gave up six hits while striking out two. Chris Narveson took the loss for Milwaukee, going 6.2 innings and allowing two runs on six hits while striking out five.

Saturday’s games:

Braves vs. Nationals

The Braves and Nationals continue their series his afternoon  in Washington. Derek Lowe (14-12, 4.18 ERA) takes the hill for Atlanta. Yunesky Maya (0-2, 6.32 ERA) starts for Washington. First pitch is 1:05 p.m.

Mets vs. Phillies

The mets and Phillies play game two tonight in Philadelphia. Dillon Gee (1-1, 1.80 ERA) gets the start for New York. Kyle Kendrick (10-9, 4.78 ERA) starts for the Phillies. Game time is 7:05 p.m.

Marlins vs. Brewers

The Marlins send Chris Volstad (10-9, 4.82 ERA) to the mound as they play game two against the Brewers. Chris Narveson (11-8, 5.25 ERA) starts for the Brewers. First pitch is 7:10 p.m. in Milwaukee.

Monday’s games:

Marlins vs. Cardinals

The Marlins and Cardinals get together for an afternoon game. It is a make-up game from one postponed on August 8. Chris Volstad (9-9, 5.11 ERA) starts for Florida. Chris Carpenter (15-, 3.21 ERA) starts for St. Louis. Game time is 3:10 p.m.

Braves vs. Phillies

The Braves and Phillies face-off tonight in Philadelphia. Jair Jurrjens (7-6, 4.64 ERA) gets the start for Atlanta. Cole Hamels (11-10, 3.01 ERA) takes the hill for the the Phillies. First pitch is 7:05 p.m.

Nationals vs. Astros

Washington and Houston begin a three-game series tonight in Washington. Livan Hernandez (10-11, 3.66 ERA) gets the start for the Nationals. Bud Norris (8-8, 4.95 ERA) starts for Houston. Game time is 7:05 p.m.

The Mets have the day off. They begin s two-game series in Florida Tuesday night.

Sunday’s games:

Mets vs. Phillies

The Mets look to play spoilers once again in the series finale this afternoon in New York. Jon Niese (9-7, 3.85 ERA) starts for the Mets. Roy Oswalt (5-1, 2.30 ERA) starts for Philadelphia. Game time is 1:10 p.m.

Marlins vs. Nationals

The Nationals look to avoid the sweep as these two teams bring their series to a close. Chris Volstad (9-9, 4.96 ERA) starts for Florida. Jordan Zimmermann (0-0, 3.86 ERA) starts for Washington. First pitch is 1:35 p.m. in Washington.

Braves vs. Cardinals

The Braves send Tim Hudson (15-7, 2.41 ERA) to the mound as they close out their series with the Cardinals tonight in Atlanta. Kyle Lohse (2-7, 7.13 ERA) starts for St. Louis. Game time is 8:05 p.m.

Tuesday’s games:

Braves vs. Pirates

The Braves look to take game two from the Pirates tonight in Pittsburgh. Tim Hudson (15-6, 2.30 ERA) gets the start for Atlanta. James McDonald (2-4, 5.03 ERA) starts for Pittsburgh. Game time is 7:05 p.m.

Marlins vs. Phillies

These two teams continue their series tonight in Florida. Chris Volstad (9-9, 4.82 ERA) starts for Florida. Joe Blanton (6-6, 5.25 ERA) starts for Philadelphia. First pitch is 7:05 p.m.

Mets vs. Nationals

The starting pitchers for tonight’s game between the Mets and Nationals will both be making their major league debuts. Dillon Gee starts for the Mets. Yunesky Maya starts for Washington. Game time is 7:05 p.m.

Phillies vs. Dodgers

The Phillies beat the Dodgers Wednesday afternoon 5-1, and won their series against Los Angeles. Home runs by Jimmy Rollins in the 1st inning and Shane Victorino in the 2nd gave Philadelphia an early 2-0 lead. The Phillies tagged on another run in the 7th on a double by Chase Utley. An RBI single by Rollins followed by a ground-rule double off the bat of Utley added two runs for Philadelphia in the 9th. Utley had a career-high three doubles in the game. The Dodgers did not get their first hit until the 6th inning off Roy Oswalt. Their only run of the game came in the bottom of the 8th when James Loney singled for L.A. to drive home Jamey Carroll.

Oswalt got the win for Philadelphia, going 6.1 innings and giving up no runs on one hit while striking out six. Clayton Kershaw took the loss for L.A., going 6 innings and allowing two runs on five hits while striking out eleven.

Braves vs. Mets

The Braves dealt the Mets their third straight loss, winning 4-1. Atlanta scored in the 1st inning on a two-run double by Martin Prado. Rick Ankiel scored in the 2nd inning on a single by Omar Infante. Infante would later score Atlanta’s 4th run when Jason Heyward doubled to left field. The Mets lone run of the game came in the 8th. Ike Davis scored on a single by Luis Hernandez.

Tommy Hanson got the win, his first since July 3. Hanson threw 7 innings of one-hit ball. He gave up no runs while striking out three. Mike Pelfrey took the loss, going 5 innings and giving up four runs on nine hits while striking out two. Billy Wagner recorded his 31st save of the season for Atlanta.

Marlins vs. Nationals

It was a wild one down in Florida as the Marlins beat the Nationals 16-10. The Nationals got on the board first with a 1st inning run on a single by Michael Morse. Florida responded with 5 runs in the bottom of the 1st, followed by 5 more in the 2nd and 4 in the 3rd. In the top of the 6th, Marlins starter Chris Volstad threw a pitch behind Morgan, who in response, charged the mound and began a bench-clearing brawl. The incident stems from a play Tuesday night in which Morgan barreled into Marlins catcher Brett Hayes at home plate. Hayes suffered a separated left shoulder. Morgan and Volstad, along with Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez and reliever Jose Veras were ejected. When all was said and done, Washington went on to score three runs in the inning. A solo shot by Wil Nieves in the 7th followed by an RBI single by Willie Harris made it 15-10. Suddenly Washington found themselves back in the ballgame, but Florida tagged on their final run in the bottom of the 7th on a home run off the bat of Cameron Maybin, and was able to hang on.

Before being tossed from the game, Volstad went 5 innings, giving up six runs on nine hits while striking out four to get the win. Scott Olsen took the loss, lasting only 1.2 innings and giving up nine runs on eight hits while striking out only one batter.

Wednesday’s games:

Phillies vs. Dodgers

The Phillies send Roy Oswalt (3-1, 2.18 ERA) to the mound as they close out their series with the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Clayton Kershaw (11-8, 3.01 ERA) gets the start for the Dodgers. Game time is 3:10 p.m.

Braves vs. Mets

The Braves and Mets continue their series in Atlanta. Tommy Hanson (8-10, 3.76 ERA) takes the mound for the Braves. Mike Pelfrey (13-7, 3.61 ERA) starts for New York. First pitch is 7:10 p.m.

Marlins vs. Nationals

The Marlins and Nationals go head-to-head in their series finale tonight in Florida. Chris Volstad (8-9, 4.61 ERA) starts for the Marlins. Scott Olsen (3-7, 4.91 ERA) starts for Washington. Game time is 7:10 p.m.

Braves vs. Dodgers

Trailing by two runs in the bottom of the 9th, the Braves came back to beat the Dodgers 4-2. Andre Ethier got things started in the 1st with a double, driving in Ryan Theriot to give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead. After allowing the 1st inning run, Tommy Hanson found himself in a pitchers duel with Chad Billingsley. The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the 6th when Atlanta tied it up on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jason Heyward to score Omar Infante. The Dodgers would take the lead once again as a throwing error by Brooks Conrad in the 8th allowed two runs to score. Down 3-1 in the 9th, L.A. pitching walked in a run cutting their lead to 3-2. With the bases loaded, Melky Cabrera then hit a single to drive home the winning runs.

Tommy Hanson went 7 innings, giving up one run on five hits while striking out three. Peter Moylan, who pitched the 9th, got the win for Atlanta. Chad Billingsley went 7 innings, allowing one run on five hits while striking out eight for Los Angeles. Hong-Chih Kuo gave up three runs in his 1.1 innings of relief for the Dodgers to take the loss.

Marlins vs. Pirates

The Marlins fell to the Pirates in their series opener 7-1. A sacrifice fly by Garrett Jones and a single by Pedro Alvarez gave Pittsburgh an early 2-0 lead in the 1st. Florida got their only run of the game in the 4th on a ground out by Dan Uggla to score Logan Morrison.  The Pirates would go on to score four runs in the 6th on a double by Jones, followed by an Alvarez single. Andrew McCutchen homered in the 7th for Pittsburgh to make it 7-1.

Chris Volstad took the loss, going 5 innings and allowing five runs on five hits while only striking out two.  James McDonald got the win, going 7 innings and giving up one run on three hits while striking out six.

Mets vs. Astros

The Mets started their road trip off with a win as they beat the Astros 3-1. Carlos Beltran homered for the Mets in the 4th to give them a 1-0 lead. Houston tied it up in the 6th on a double by Chris Johnson. The game remained tied until the 9th, when David Wright scored on a wild pitch and then Jeff Francoeur tripled to score Beltran.

Jon Niese got a no decision after pitching 7 innings. He gave up one run on seven hits while striking out five. Pedro Feliciano got the win after pitching a third of an inning in relief. Wandy Rodriguez took a no decision as well after pitching 7 innings and allowing one run on four hits while striking out six. Matt Lindstrom took the loss for Houston after giving up the two runs in the 9th. Hisanori Takahashi closed out the game in place of Francisco Rodriguez to record his first save.

Monday’s games:

Marlins vs. Pirates

The Marlins send Chris Volstad (6-8, 4.47 ERA) to the mound for game one of their four-game series with the Pirates. James McDonald (1-1, 3.38 ERA) starts for the Pirates. Game time is 7:05 p.m. in Pittsburgh.

Braves vs. Dodgers

Tommy Hanson (8-8, 3.51 ERA) and the Braves take on Chad Billingsley (9-7, 3.78 ERA) and the Dodgers tonight in the series finale in Atlanta. First pitch is 7:10 p.m.

Mets vs. Astros

The Mets head west as they begin a four-game set against the Astros tonight in Houston. Jon Niese (7-5, 3.50 ERA) gets the start for New York. Wandy Rodriguez (9-11, 4.18 ERA) starts for Houston. Game time is 8:05 p.m.

The Nationals and Phillies have the night off.

Braves vs. Giants

The Braves took the opening game of their four-game series with the Giants by a score of 3-2. San Francisco jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the 1st as Andres Torres scored on Aubrey Huff’s ground out. The Giants tagged on another run in the 2nd when Torres hit a double to center, driving home Aaron Rowand. Atlanta tied up the game in the bottom of the 2nd with a two-run shot to left field off the bat of Alex Gonzalez. Eric  Hinske would homer for the Braves in the bottom of the 6th to make it 3-2 Atlanta.

Jair Jurrjens got the win, going 6 innings and giving up two runs on seven hits while striking out three. Tim Lincecum took the loss, going 6.1 innings and allowing three runs on six hits while striking out seven. Billy Wagner recorded his 26th save of the season for Atlanta.

Marlins vs. Phillies

The Phillies beat the Marlins 5-4 in 10 innings. The game was scoreless until the top of the 6th when Carlos Ruiz doubled, hitting  a line drive to center to drive in Raul Ibanez and Domonic Brown, giving Philadelphia a 2-0 lead. The Marlins came back in the bottom of the 7th to score four runs. Donnie Murphy hit a ground-rule double to drive in a run. Two batters later, Logan Morrison walked with the bases loaded tying the game at 2-2. Gaby Sanchez followed with a single to drive in two more runs for Florida. Going into the 9th with a 4-2 lead, a Hanley Ramirez error along with poor pitching from the Florida bullpen allowed for the Phillies to tie up the game. The game winning run for the Phillies came in the top of the 10th on a homer to left field off the bat of Ruiz.

Phillies starter Roy Oswalt went 6.1 innings, giving up two runs on three hits while striking out five. Ryan Madson got the win for Philadelphia. Chris Volstad went 5.2 innings for Florida, allowing two runs on eight hits while striking out two batters. Will Ohman took the loss for Florida. Brad Lidge recorded his 12th save for the Phillies.

Nationals vs. Diamondbacks

The Nationals lost to the Diamondbacks by a score of 8-4. A fielding error by Adam Dunn in the 2nd allowed for Rusty Ryal to reach base and Adam LaRoche to score for Arizona. Ryal would score later in the inning on a double by Bobby Crosby. Adam Kennedy got Washington on the board in the 3rd with a solo shot to right field, cutting Arizona’s lead to 2-1. The next inning, Stephen Drew hit an RBI single for Arizona. Arizona starter Barry Enright helped himself out at the plate, driving in Drew with a single to center field. Ryan Zimmerman homered in the top of the 5th, cutting the lead to 4-2. Zimmerman had two home runs on the night. Arizona would respond, however, with three more runs in the bottom of the 5th. Roger Bernadina homered in the 7th for Washington. Arizona tagged on their 8th run in the 8th on a sacrifice fly by Justin Upton.

Ross Detwiler took the loss for Washington. He lasted only 4 innings, giving up seven runs on  nine hits while striking out five. Barry Enright got the win for Arizona. He went 6 innings allowing two runs on six hits while striking out three.