Ibanez lifts Phillies past Braves

Published 12:01 am Saturday, July 9, 2011

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Raul Ibanez hit a solo homer with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night.

Roy Halladay pitched seven strong innings, Carlos Ruiz hit a tying homer and the Phillies increased their lead to 3 1/2 games over the Braves in the NL East. The victory was manager Charlie Manuel’s 600th career win with the team.

Despite heavy rain throughout the day and a delay of 1 hour, 54 minutes at the start, the game was played straight through without any stoppage after the first pitch. The teams were set to start after a 90-minute delay, but the rain began falling harder and umpires instructed the grounds crew to put the tarp back on the field.

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Ibanez ripped a 2-0 pitch from Scott Proctor (1-3) out to right to end it after Braves center fielder Jordan Schafer robbed Ryan Howard of extra bases leading off the inning with a diving catch on his drive to left-center.

These teams battled for the NL East title last year, with the Phillies overcoming a seven-game deficit on July 22 to win their fourth consecutive division crown. The Braves were 41/2 games up at the All-Star break, and finished six games back, though they earned a wild-card berth.

Fittingly, in a matchup between teams with the two best ERAs in the majors, runs were scarce. Neither starter stuck around for a decision.

Halladay gave up two runs and six hits, striking out seven. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner hasn’t lost since the Braves beat him on May 15.

Three Phillies relievers combined for three perfect innings. Michael Stutes pitched the eighth and Antonio Bastardo worked the ninth to run his scoreless innings streak to 16. The hard-throwing lefty has allowed one hit in 42 at-bats in that span.