Braves 3, Phillies 1
Kris Medlen pitched into the eighth inning and doubled home a run as host Atlanta evened its series with Philadelphia.
Chris Johnson hit a two-run homer for the Braves, who improved their major league-best home record to 41-17. Medlen (10-10) won his fourth consecutive start, holding the Phillies to one run on five hits, and Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth for his National League-leading 37th save as the Braves remain 14 games ahead of Washington atop the NL East.
Chase Utley finished with three hits and a run scored for Philadelphia, which lost for the 12th time in its past 13 road games. Rookie Ethan Martin (1-2) allowed three runs on six hits in five innings.
Medlen’s double to right brought home Tyler Pastornicky in the second to make it 1-0. Johnson, the NL’s batting leader at .337, homered off the top of the fence in left field in the third to push the lead to 3-0, and Justin Upton and Jason Heyward each added two hits.
The Phillies notched their lone run in the sixth on Domonic Brown’s two-out single to center. Philadelphia brought the tying run to the plate in the eighth, but David Carpenter induced an inning-ending double play to end the threat as the Phillies fell to 3-10 in their past 13 games.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Braves placed 2B Dan Uggla on the disabled list with vision problems, which will result in Lasik surgery, and promoted Pastornicky from Triple-A Gwinnett. … Atlanta improved to 14-5 in games following a home loss. … Martin has allowed four homers in his first three major-league starts (14.1 innings).