Braves finish off sweep of Phils

ATLANTA - This time, J.A. Happ could not do it alone.

The young lefthander who ended the Phillies' last losing streak with a complete-game shutout, pitched seven gritty innings tonight, but the offense and bullpen did nothing for him. The Phillies dropped their third straight to Atlanta, 5-2, on three eighth-inning runs off Ryan Madson, and limped home without sole possession of first place for the first time since May 29.

The Phils fell into a virtual tie with Florida atop the National League East after losing 12 of 15, including six of nine during a road trip that is mercifully over. Happ was good, but could not rescue his team as he did Saturday.

Last Friday's loss to Toronto and Wednesday's 11-1 nightmare in Atlanta were remarkably similar embarrassments. In both games, Cole Hamels lost his focus and left in the fifth inning, and the offense was no-hit into the seventh. Each loss sank team morale and forced the Phillies to turn to starter J.A. Happ to reverse a losing streak.

On Saturday, Happ's steady presence and aggressive approach provided a needed change in tone for a team lacking sharpness. He pitched a complete game, five-hit shutout, and the Phillies went on to win the series against the Blue Jays. The series in Atlanta had already been lost before tonight's game, but the Phils, eager to avoid the indignity of a sweep, again turned to Happ.

The 26-year-old lefthander showed characteristic calm with runners on base. He pitched around a two-out single by Chipper Jones in the first and allowed a leadoff double to Yunel Escobar in the second. Matt Diaz followed with sacrifice attempt that went to Ryan Howard, who scooped and fired an off-target throw to the pitcher. Happ tried unsuccessfully to snag the high toss with his bare hand; Diaz was safe at first and Escobar moved to third.

Jeff Francoeur then struck out, but Happ walked Casey Kotchman to load the bases and bring up pitcher Javier Vazquez. Happ struck out Vazquez, then got Gregor Blanco to ground out, stranding the leadoff double and keeping the game scoreless.

Happ allowed another leadoff double in the third, this time to Martin Prado, and again he kept the Braves from scoring. But a leadoff single by Matt Diaz in the fourth led to the Braves' first run after Kotchman homered to right, giving the Braves a 2-0 lead.

The Phils' offense scored only one unearned run on Wednesday and began tonight's game equally unable to rally against Atlanta starter Javier Vazquez. Greg Dobbs doubled in the second but was stranded. In the third, Jimmy Rollins ended a career-high hitless streak of 28 at-bats with one-out single that rolled through the infield and into right field, but Shane Victorino's grounder forced him at second to end the inning. Howard, Happ and Rollins collected hits in the fourth and fifth innings (it was the pitcher's first major-league hit), but none scored.

The Phillies finally scored in the sixth, after 16 innings without an earned run. Chase Utley led off with a single and, after Howard flied out and Jayson Werth was hit by a pitch, Dobbs doubled in Utley and moved Werth to third. Pedro Feliz then tied the score at 2 with an RBI groundout.

Happ maneuvered yet another escape in the seventh. Kotchman began the inning with a single, and pinch-runner Kelly Johnson moved to second on a sacrifice. Prado drew a two-out walk, putting, bringing up Jones. Appearing tired, Happ went to a 3-1 count before getting Jones to fly out to center.

Contact staff writer Andy Martino at 215-854-4874 or amartino@phillynews.com.