Braves pitcher Alex Wood doubled to the wall in right-center field and stood on base as Phillies center fielder Odubel Herrera fumbled with the ball. Fans urged him to run so he started for third base, halted, and then ran again.
Maybe Wood just couldn’t believe offense was coming so easy for the Braves on Saturday at Turner Field.
The Braves usually have to scratch out runs but they got them in bunches against Phillies starter Kevin Correia. The Braves won 9-5 for their fourth victory in a row and fifth in sixth games.
The Braves (40-41) reached the halfway mark of the season one game under .500. They are five games behind first-place Washington in the NL East.
“We believe we are still in it,” Braves center fielder Cameron Maybin said. “We’ve got two, three months left. We feel like we haven’t played our best baseball and we are still right there. If we continue to take care of division games, we like our chances.”
The Braves scored the most runs since their 10-1 victory over the Brewers on May 21. They had scored a total of nine runs in their previous four games, and now have scored nine or more runs in just four of 81 games.
The Braves’ Nos. 2-4 hitters led the way. Maybin had a single, double and a home run, right fielder Nick Markakis hit a two-run double and first baseman Kelly Johnson was 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
The Braves jumped on Correia (0-3) early and never relented. The nine earned runs allowed by Correia matched the most of a 13-year career that includes 221 starts.
The Braves gave Wood (6-5) so much cushion that it hardly mattered when he gave up a three-run homer to Darin Ruf in the fifth inning. Wood dominated the Pirates in his last start but allowed base runners in each of his six innings against the Phillies (27-56).
“It was pretty ugly,” Wood said. “Probably one of my worst I’ve had in terms of command of all my pitches from start to finish. But we won. That’s all that counts.”
The Braves pounded out 10 hits against Correia, including five with four runs in the first inning. Jace Peterson’s lead-off single started a string of five consecutive base runners for the Braves.
Maybin followed with a double to right-center field. After Markakis walked, Johnson poked Correia’s first pitch through the right side of the infield to score Peterson and Markakis. Juan Uribe hit Correia’s next pitch to center field to score Markakis and Johnson scored on A.J. Pierzynski’s fielder’s choice.
Maybin added to the lead in the second inning with a solo home run to straightaway center field. Correia retired the Braves in order in the third inning before Wood started another four-run inning with his one-out double in the fourth.
Peterson walked, Maybin scored Wood with a single and Markakis hit a two-run double before scoring on Johnson’s single for a 9-1 lead. That finally chased Correia, who also gave up nine runs to the Diamondbacks while pitching for the Padres in 2010.
