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 Aaron Harang ended a personal eight-game losing streak in his return
from the disabled list as the Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-1.
"There's a lot of uncertainty going on," Harang said, referring to a
widely reported eight-player trade that would send Hamels to the
Texas Rangers.
Neither the Phillies nor the Rangers have officially announced the
trade, however. Phillies reliever Jake Diekman was in uniform and in
the bullpen on Thursday, though he was told he would only be used in
an emergency.
No one knew if Hamels was around or not.
"I didn't see him," interim manager Pete Mackanin said with a smile.
"He might have been lurking in the shadows somewhere."
Harang, out since July 1 with plantar fasciitis of the left foot,
went five innings and allowed one run and nine hits, while striking
out three and walking one. Now 5-11 this season, he had not won
since beating Pittsburgh on May 14.
He said he had no problem concentrating on the task at hand, either.
"The more you've been through it, it's kind of one of the easier
things (to ignore)," the 37-year-old right-hander said. "You just
expect stuff to happen. But you've got to focus on what you're doing
from day to day."
Right fielder Domonic Brown hit his first homer of the season for
Philadelphia, which is 10-2 since the All-Star break. The Phillies
(39-64) nonetheless have the major leagues' worst record.
Atlanta, which consummated a three-team, 13-player trade earlier in
the day, lost for the seventh time in eight games.
Braves starter Shelby Miller (5-8) dropped his seventh straight,
going six innings and allowing four runs and 11 hits, while striking
out four and walking one.
"He was struggling with sweat," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "He
changed his uniform several times. But he pitched in St. Louis in
the middle of the summer, so I don't think it was a factor."
Miller needed 104 pitches to get through six innings.
"It didn't affect me physically," he said of the humid 78-degree
night. "Maybe a couple of balls slipped out of my hand. It was
really hot, but that's not the reason (for the loss)."
Atlanta made the trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami
Marlins, sending pitchers Alex Wood, Jim Johnson, Luis Avilan and
Bronson Arroyo, as well as minor league infielder Jose Peraza, to
the Dodgers and received infielder Hector Olivera and pitchers Paco
Rodriquez and Zachary Bird from Los Angeles.
The Braves loaded the bases with none out in the third, but first
baseman Freddie Freeman struck out and left fielder Adonis Garcia
grounded into a force out at the plate.
Catcher A.J. Pierzynski then legged out a single to deep short,
driving in the game's first run.
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Philadelphia went on top when catcher Carlos Ruiz blooped a two-run
single to center in the fourth.
Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard made it 3-1 with an RBI single in
the fifth.
Brown lined Miller's first pitch of the sixth, a change-up, into the
seats in right field. It was his first homer in 46 games, his last
having come Sept. 16, 2014, at San Diego.
"He hit a missile," Mackanin said. "It was nice to see. He's been so
concerned about the outer half of the plate. I think he's got to
remember that mistakes are made out over the plate and on the inner
half. He's got to get back to that."
NOTES: The key acquisition in the Braves' three-team, 13-player
trade is Cuban INF Hector Olivera, who Atlanta tried to sign as a
free agent in the offseason, only to be outbid by the Dodgers.
Manager Fredi Gonzalez scouted Olivera in the Dominican Republic
during the winter and also met with him. "He passed all the tests,
as far as makeup and character," Gonzalez said. The 30-year-old
Olivera, whose best position is third base, has been out with a
hamstring pull recently but is expected to return soon. "We look at
our club and we look at this as the first building block to building
the team," general manager John Hart said. "He can play third, he
can play second, he can play left, but we just like the bat and we
felt this was going to be a good piece." ... When Phillies RHP Aaron
Harang was activated from the disabled list, he took the roster spot
vacated when RHP Jonathan Papelbon was traded to the Washington
Nationals on Tuesday. ... The Braves will activate RHP Williams
Perez (foot) from the disabled list to start Friday's game against
the Phillies. A corresponding roster move has yet to be announced.
... The Braves called up LHP Matt Marksberry, RHP Jake Brigham and
RHP Ryan Kelly from Triple-A Gwinnett. ... RHP Ken Giles, the last
of five Philadelphia pitchers, worked out of a two-on, none-out jam
in the ninth to earn his second save. Giles is replacing Jonathan
Papelbon, traded to Washington on Tuesday, as the team's closer. ...
The Phils also announced that RHP David Buchanan will be called up
from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to start in place of LHP Cole Hamels on
Friday. A corresponding roster move has yet to be announced.
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