PHILADELPHIA - 2003 GAME RECAP

April 10th - Atlanta Braves 6 Philadelphia Phillies 2 - Attendance 14,840.

The pitching matchup wasn't very intriguing as a couple of minor leaguers got the call - Trey Hodges for the Braves and Joe Roa for the Phillies. Roa started poorly, giving up a leadoff triple to Rafael Furcal, who scored on a groundout to make it 1-0 Atlanta. In the 3rd, Marcus Giles doubled and scored on a Furcal single, and Andruw Jones crushed the first pitch of the 4th for a homer, making it 3-0. The Braves added another in the fifth on a walk, stolen base, and RBI single by Chipper Jones. The fans were booing Roa, who went five innings, giving up single runs in 4 of them. but the Philly offense was equally guilty, managing only a single off Hodges through 4.

In the bottom of the fifth, Hodges got 2 out before walking Mike Lieberthal. Marlon Byrd then drove him home with a double, and amazingly, Hodges was pulled, preventing him from getting the win. The score was 4-1 and Hodges seemed in control, but Ray King was brought in to finish the inning. 

Certainly questionable managing by Bobby Cox, but in the end, the Braves won 6-2, so perhaps it was the right decision. The Braves used 6 pitchers, with Darren Holmes getting the win and John Smoltz picking up the save by striking out the side in the 9th. All in all, a cold, and not particularly interesting game.