Phillies 3, Braves 0
Philadelphia’s Cole Hamels won the pitchers’ duel Sunday, beating Derek Lowe and the host Atlanta Braves 3-0 at Turner Field as the Phillies won the last two games of the three-game series.
Hamels (1-1) pitched seven innings and allowed only four hits, a far cry from his first start, when he was tagged for six runs in 2 2/3 innings against the New York Mets.
Hamels retired the first nine batters he faced and only allowed two batters to reach second base until the seventh inning, when he pitched out of trouble by striking out Dan Uggla and retiring Brian McCann on a fly to left to strand runners on the corners.
Jose Contreras pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his second save as the Phillies (7-2) opened a 3 1/2-game lead over the Braves (4-6).
Lowe (1-2) lost his second straight game in which the Braves failed to score a run on his behalf. He scattered seven hits and allowed two earned runs in seven innings.
Philadelphia’s Shane Victorino was involved with two Philadelphia runs. He scored in the fourth when Jimmy Rollins hit into a double play and belted a solo homer to deep right field in the sixth.
The Phillies added a run in the ninth of reliever Craig Kimbrel. Rollins doubled, took third on an error by right fielder Jason Heyward and scored on Ryan Howard’s infield grounder.