Atlanta Braves: Brian McCann's Bat, Ben Sheets' Arm Propel Braves Past Phillies

Well that's it.  Ben Sheets has got to go.

Maybe he should be released, or sent down to Gwinnett or Mississippi.  

His streak of 12 scoreless innings was snapped in the first inning as the Phillies jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a Shane Victoriono double that scored Jimmy Rollins.

That was Philly's only highlight.  Sheets went into shutdown mode and promptly started another scoreless innings streak right then and there as he pitched six more strong innings, helping the Braves to a 6-1 victory.

With the Phillies' bats silenced, the Braves offense went to work on Cole Hamels and his contract.  Hamels was a little erratic to say the least, walking six in five innings.

Atlanta really made him pay for it in the fifth when Brian McCann hit a three-run homer, his 17th of the season, scoring Jason Heyward and Chipper Jones and extending the lead to 5-1.  

Chipper had reached on a ground rule double, giving him 1,041 extra-base hits for his career and tying him with Pete Rose.

Martin Prado closed out the scoring with an RBI single in the sixth.

Johnny Venters, Chad Durbin and Cristhian Martinez picked up where Sheets left off and kept the Phillies at bay.

The win, coupled with the Nationals' 6-0 loss to the Brewers, leaves Atlanta four games back in the N.L. East going into play today.

Philadelphia sends Joe Blanton (8-8, 4.70 ERA) to the mound while Atlanta counters with Mike Minor (5-7, 5.49 ERA).  First pitch is scheduled for 7:10.

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