Phillies 3, Braves 2
Ross Gload ripped a pinch-hit RBI single with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Philadelphia Phillies moved closer to their fifth consecutive National League East title with a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.
Raul Ibanez belted his 250th career homer to lead off the second and Placido Polanco added an RBI single for Philadelphia, which completed a three-game sweep to extend its lead to 10 1/2 games over Atlanta in the NL East.
The Phillies reduced their magic number for clinching the division to 12 with 23 contests remaining.
Gload, who had only four hits in his last 33 at-bats, deposited a slider by Peter Moylan (1-1) down the first-base line to plate Ibanez with the winning run.
Chipper Jones and rookie Freddie Freeman had RBI singles for Atlanta, which has dropped five of its last six and leads St. Louis by 6 1/2 games in the NL wild card standings.
Ryan Madson (4-2) picked up the win after tossing one scoreless inning of relief.