It took 15 minutes for the Phillies to score twice in the first inning and suck a lot of the energy out of sold-out Turner Field on Friday night.
But it took only about 15 minutes in the second inning for Braves hitters to restore it, then one swing by Chipper Jones in the fourth inning to jolt it to whole new level.
His three-run double propelled the Braves to a 6-3 win against Philadelphia and ace Cliff Lee in Atlanta's home opener, and Jones added a sixth-inning single for his 2,500th career hit.
"Couldn’t have scripted it any better," said the veteran third baseman, who tipped his cap to a standing ovation from a crowd of 51,331 after his milestone hit. “I’m just glad that one of the hits tonight came in a big spot. It really kind of got us over the hump.
"It’s one thing to get back in the game and tie it, but to put the nail in the coffin with three or four consecutive hits against an awesome pitcher was big for all of our confidence.”
Braves starter Tim Hudson (2-0) was charged with eight hits and three runs (two earned) in 7 2/3 innings, and rookie closer Craig Kimbrel retired the side in the ninth for his third save in as many appearances as the Braves snapped a three-game losing streak.
“[The win] was huge, man," said Jason Heyward, whose opposite-field triple started the three-run rally in the second inning. "Against this team, against a team in your division. And it’s the home opener.... It was big to get a big inning and give Huddy a chance.”
The Braves knocked Lee out after 3 1/3 innings. The ace left-hander was charged with 10 hits and six runs, including four extra-base hits in the three-run second inning.
“I feel good about it," said Hudson, who gave up three runs in the first two innings, then shut down the Phillies, working out of one serious jam. "Obviously they put together an inning in the first and had a chance to score some runs there [in the fifth]."
The Phillies (5-2) loaded the bases with one out in the fifth inning before Hudson induced a comebacker to the mound by Ryan Howard to start a double play. Howard had a .341 average and six homers in 41 at-bats against Hudson before going hitless Friday.
"It wasn’t easy by any means, but can’t argue with the results," Hudson said. "We got a win. It’s fun to go out there and watch [Braves teammates] swing it like they were swinging it The guy on the other side [Lee], he’s got some pretty good credentials. And we took it to him. It was all of our guys tonight. They did their job and had some good at-bats against him.”
Jones' three-run double off the glove of Philadelphia center fielder Shane Victorino was the winning hit and left him three RBIs shy of 1,500. Eddie Murray is the only switch-hitter in major league history with at least 2,500 hits and 1,500 RBIs.
Jones also leads the majors with 207 game-winning RBIs since the beginning of the 1995 season, two more than Manny Ramirez.
"I grew up a Braves fan; I was a fan of Chipper’s long before I started playing with him," Hudson said. "Being part of these milestones that he’s going to star accumulating, it’s pretty cool. I think everybody in here obviously understands how tough it is to play the game that long and to put those kinds of numbers up. It definitely says something about his longevity and the great player that he’s been.”
For Lee, it was the second time in four starts against the Braves that he gave up 10 hits and six runs. The other was in 2009.
“You look at the schedule and you see [Milwaukee's Yovani] Gallardo and you see this guy and [Oswalt] tomorrow and Hamels on Sunday, and you’re going man, oh man, this is going to be a tough week for the bats," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, whose Braves lost three in a row at Milwaukee to finish a 3-4 trip Thursday. "But it’s baseball and you’ve got to play the games. Today, we got him. Maybe next time he gets us.
"I’m happy that it turns out this way this time.”
The Braves got nine hits from their first four batters. Leadoff man Martin Prado was 3-for-5 and Nate McLouth, Jones and Brian McCann had two hits apiece.
"Obviously the first inning and a half was rough, spotting them three runs," Jones said. "You’re not going to win too many ball games doing that. Their balls were finding holes, and we made a mistake or two, but J-Hey kind of invigorated the crowd with his triple, and man, the hits just started coming after that.
"It was fun. It was a big game for us, and a good remedy for a three-game losing streak.”
Hudson got a standing ovation as he walked off the field with a runner on in the eighth, and Jonny Venters struck out Raul Ibanez to end the inning.
The Braves were happy to get back to Turner Field, where they had a 56-25 record last season and a penchant for dramatic late-innings comebacks. They didn’t wait until the end Thursday.
Trailing 3-0, Heyward led off the second inning with a triple to the left-center gap.
“I knew he was aggressive in the[strike] zone," Heyward said. "I hung in there with him, tried to battle every at-bat tonight. It was just good to get the inning going and get some momentum.”
Alex Gonzalez drove him in with a double down the left-field line, and Freddie Freeman singled for the third consecutive hit of the inning.
One out later, Prado bounced a double over the center-field fence to cut the lead to 3-2, and McLouth grounded out to drive in the tying run.
Freeman was hit by a pitch to start the Braves’ decisive fourth inning. After one-out singles by Prado and McLouth loaded the bases, Jones cleared them with a long fly that caromed off Victorino’s glove at the warning track.
Freeman made the defensive play of the night when he leaped to stab a line drive to his right by Wilson Valdez with a runner on to end the sixth inning.
The Phillies (5-2) lost their first road game, after beating up on the Houston Astros and New York Mets at home in the first week of the season.
Their two-run first inning began with Victorino's leadoff single that caromed off second base and Placido Polanco's bloop single to left. One fielder's choice grounder and a Howard sacrifice fly later, they got a second run when Ben Francisco hit a sharp single past Jones just as he was moving to cover third on a Jimmy Rollins stolen base.
They added an unearned run in the second inning after an error against Braves shortstop Alex Gonzalez, and a 3-0 lead with Lee pitching must have seem safe to the Phillies.
The Braves, however, were just getting started.
