CINCINNATI – Brandon Phillips hit a tying triple with two out in the fifth inning and scored the tiebreaking run on shortstop Alex Gonzalez's error, helping the Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves 2-1 on Sunday in the rubber game of the weekend series.
Ramon Hernandez was on first when Phillips lifted a fly ball down the right-field line that eluded a diving Jason Heyward and bounced into the corner. Orlando Cabrera followed with a routine grounder to Gonzalez, but the former Reds infielder dropped the ball, and Phillips scored while Cabrera easily beat the throw to first.
The NL East-leading Braves have lost three of four and went 3-6 on their 10-day trip, earning one win at each stop. They wasted a solid outing by Tommy Hanson (8-8), who allowed an earned run and five hits in 7 1-3 innings.
The Reds have won three of four and open a six-game trip on Monday in Pittsburgh. They entered the day trailing NL Central-leading St. Louis by a half-game.
Rick Ankiel started in center field and went 0 for 3 with a walk in his first game with Atlanta. The Braves acquired Ankiel and reliever Kyle Farnsworth from Kansas City on Saturday.
Edinson Volquez was wild in five effective innings for Cincinnati, walking five and hitting a batter but yielding just one run. The right-hander also struck out seven and allowed three hits in his fourth major league start since undergoing elbow surgery last August.
Volquez (2-1) has issued 13 walks in 11 innings over his last three starts.
Jordan Smith, Bill Bray and Nick Masset each pitched an inning before Francisco Cordero finished for his 29th save. Cordero pitched in each game of the series.
Gonzalez started the second inning with a drive to left on an 0-2 pitch. Gonzalez, acquired from Toronto on July 14, snapped a 0-for-18 slump with his first homer since July 10.
Hanson struck out five and walked one, dropping to 0-3 with a 2.55 ERA in his last four starts.
NOTES: Farnsworth also was in uniform but didn't pitch. ... Cincinnati CF Drew Stubbs rested after going 0 for 4 with three strikeouts Saturday, extending his string of hitless at-bats to 10. Stubbs is mired in a 1-for-36 skid overall. ... The crowd of 40,871 was the third sellout of the series, lifting the overall attendance to 122,855, the most for a three-game weekend series at Great American Ball Park since it opened in 2003.
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