Chase Utley hit two homers to give him long balls for four hits in a row in the Phillies 9-2 win over the Braves. Cole Hamels pitched six innings in his last start before opening day next week.
Utley has now hit two home runs in each of his last two starts to finally give the Phillies a much needed silver lining.
Hamels pitched six innings whilst only allowing two runs. He has been named as the starting pitcher for Monday’s opener against the Boston Red Sox at Citizens Bank Park so to come into this game on a high is a big boost. Throughout the entire six innings pitches he only really made one mistake against Atlanta which unfortunately resulted in a solo home run by Joe Benson in the second inning.
The Phillies scored seven runs and had eight hits, including four homers.
Freddy Galvis and Rene Garcia hit back-to-back home runs off Teheran to start the fourth inning in an explosive fashion.
In a pre-season shadowed by inconsistency and injury doubts, it’s great as a fan to see it end on a high note. Whilst the fans anxiety regarding trading some deadwood still hasn’t passed, there is definitely room to breathe as the Phils can look forward to Monday with a sense of excitement as opposed to one of dread.
