Just when you think you've seen it all in baseball, you see something else. For the Braves, it was something awful Friday in a 4-3, 10-inning loss against the Philadelphia Phillies at Turner Field.

The Braves had a 2-1 lead against Philadelphia and were one out from a win when second baseman Kelly Johnson inexplicably dropped a popup in the ninth inning.

The ball squirted from his glove as a stunned crowd of 34,074 watched Eric Bruntlett race from second base to score the tying run for the Phillies, who scored twice in the 10th and hung on to win.

"We gave it away," said manager Bobby Cox, whose Braves had won 18 of their previous 22 home games before losing this important series opener. "We didn't lose it, we gave it [away]. Bad base-running, dropped a popup. ...

"Kelly catches everything. I've never seen him drop one. We're all allowed one, I guess."

Johnson sat at a table in the middle of a quiet clubhouse afterward, answering questions and making no excuses for a play he didn't think he would ever forget.

"Just one of those things that just doesn't happen," he said. "Not supposed to happen, doesn't happen. ... Probably the worst feeling someone can have on a baseball field, outside a playoff game. And in a way, those are playoff games."

The Braves slipped to 41/2 games behind the National League East-leading Phillies, with two more before they head back out on the road — where the Braves have been every bit as bad as they've been good at home.

"[The ball] just didn't stick," Johnson said. "Hit the palm, probably the one spot in your glove it's going to come out. The last one I can remember was 2002, at [Class A] Myrtle Beach. Those are the kind you don't forget."

After skidding reliever Manny Acosta (3-4) was charged with two runs in the 10th, the Braves nearly tied it in the bottom of the inning when Yunel Escobar singled with two runners on and two out.

Josh Anderson scored, but Gregor Blanco was out on a close play at the plate to end a wild game that dropped the Braves to 3-17 in one-run decisions.

Gone was the opportunity to pull even with second-place Florida and for Escobar to make amends for the baserunning blunder that Cox referenced.

The aggressive shortstop tried to score from third base on Jeff Francoeur's sixth-inning bases-loaded lineout to left fielder Pat Burrell, whose throw arrived at the plate 10 feet ahead of Escobar for the inning-ending double play.

"I wasn't thinking of going home," Escobar said through a translator. "But I saw the throw; that's why I made the decision."

If that was the case, then he saw something in the throw that no one else at Turner Field saw, because it was obvious from the time he took off for the plate that Escobar was going to be out, barring a terrible throw.

Overshadowed by the late meltdown(s) was Brian McCann's two-run homer off Jamie Moyer in the sixth inning, which provided a 2-1 lead and looked like it would stand as McCann's second game-winning homer in as many nights.

Tim Hudson allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings and was in position for the win. Alas, his winless streak against the Phillies was extended to eight starts.

Johnson slipped to the ground after his error in the ninth, but recovered quickly enough to avoid further disaster by making a throw home to cut down Pedro Feliz, who was trying to win the game.

But there was no stopping the Phillies in the 10th, when Acosta faced three batters and allowed a double and Shane Victorino's second triple of the game. Chase Utley's double off lefty Royce Ring scored Victorino.

Cox didn't want to use closer Rafael Soriano, who just returned from a long stint on the disabled list for elbow problems and had pitched in three of the previous four games.

"Bad week for me -- I don't know what happened," said Acosta, who's allowed seven runs in two innings over five appearances, after allowing four runs over 27 2/3 innings in his previous 25 appearances.

The Braves had a chance to win in the bottom of the ninth after Johnson doubled and Chipper Jones was intentionally walked. But Mark Teixeira struck out, and Francoeur continued his frustrating night by popping out.

Francoeur flied out with the bases loaded to end the third inning.