Braves Dominate Phillies In 9-0 Shutout
ATLANTA (AP) — Shelby Miller threw his third career shutout, Freddie Freeman and Kelly Johnson hit homers to spoil Chad Billingsley's first start in more than two years, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-0 on Tuesday night.
Miller (4-1) allowed only three hits and one walk with eight strikeouts. He has not allowed more than two runs in any of his six starts.
Billingsley (0-1) gave up six runs, five earned, in five innings. The right-hander fought back from two major surgeries on his pitching arm to make his first start since April 15, 2013, for the Dodgers against San Diego.
Freeman had three hits, including a two-run homer in the first. Johnson, who drove in four runs, hit a three-run shot in the fourth. He added a sixth-inning single for his 1,000th career hit.
Miller struck out Ryan Howard to complete his first shutout since June 17, 2014, with the Cardinals at Toronto.
Miller faced the minimum 12 batters through four innings. Cesar Hernandez had an infield hit to lead off the third before Carlos Ruiz hit into a double play. Howard led off the fifth with a double, but was stranded on second base.
Johnson leads the Braves with six homers and has 14 RBIs in his last 10 games.
Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg held out slumping second baseman Chase Utley, who is hitting only .103 and is 2 for 29 (.069) on the road trip.
Sandberg said it was "a pretty good possibility" Utley's break "from the mental side" will continue through Wednesday's final game of the series. Sandberg said Utley has "hit the ball very hard, right on the nose," but hasn't had any luck.
Hernandez started at second base.
Left-hander Elvis Araujo, making his major league debut, pitched around two hits in a scoreless sixth for Philadelphia. Dustin McGowan walked four batters in the seventh, including a bases-loaded walk to Johnson to force in a run. Jace Peterson and Cameron Maybin followed with run-scoring singles.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Phillies: Billingsley had to recover from two surgeries on his right arm — a Tommy John procedure followed by a repair of his partially torn flexor tendon on June 24, 2014. Billingsley, 30, was signed to a one-year deal by the Phillies on Jan. 29.
Braves: The Braves designated left-handed reliever Donnie Veal for assignment before the game and recalled right-hander Brandon Cunniff from Triple-A Gwinnett. The move left Luis Avilan as the only left-hander in Atlanta's bullpen.
UP NEXT
Phillies: RHP Jerome Williams will try for his second win over the Braves this season. He allowed three runs in a 5-4 win over the Braves in Philadelphia on April 26. He is 2-3 against Atlanta in his career.
Braves: RHP Mike Foltynewicz will try to solidify his spot in Atlanta's rotation after allowing two earned runs in five innings in a 4-3 win over the Reds on Friday.
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