PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Phillies bullpen finished what Cole Hamels started, and Placido Polanco, Jayson Werth and Shane Victornio provided the offense.
Each of them hit solo home runs Sunday, and the Phillies’ bullpen worked four perfect innings in relief of a shaky Hamels to give Philadelphia a 5-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
“It’s nice to get outs,” said Chad Durbin, who worked the sixth and seventh innings. “It’s the same as when you’re in Little League, get outs so you can hit.”
The Phillies hit enough on a chilly afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, building a 4-0 lead off Kenshin Kawakami. They scored twice in the first inning after loading the bases with one out, then got homers from Polanco and Werth in the second and third innings.
Hamels (3-2) gave most of that back in the fifth, after dodging trouble in the third and fourth innings. The left-hander began the fifth by allowing five straight batters to reach base, starting with a walk to Kawakami. Omar Infante, Martin Prado, Melky Cabrera and Troy Glaus each followed with singles, allowing Atlanta to pull within 4-3.