uesday and took batting practice, with e | Forum

PHILADELPHIA -- Its been as if someone flipped the switch to on for the Philadelphia Phillies while the Atlanta Braves dial has been stuck in off for the majority of the season. Ricky Vaughn Jersey .The bottom two teams in the NL East, the Phillies and Braves open a three-game series in Philadelphia on Monday. They are one week removed from a much-needed All-Star break to regroup... except the Phillies may not want to stop playing anytime soon.After battling offensive ineptitude for about 75 games, the Phillies bats have come alive, and it has fueled a 5-1 stretch.I dont know exactly whats happened. I just know we had it in us, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said following Sundays 7-2 win over Kansas City. I always felt even for the first two months that we were a better hitting team than it showed and it was kind of an enigma as to why we werent hitting better. It just took a little time.The individual numbers have really turned around as of late. Maikel Franco has been on a torrid stretch that has seen him record multiple hits in five of his last six games. He has also reached base safely in 11 of the last 12 contests. The third basemen ripped a home run on Sunday to cap off a 3-for-4 day.Cameron Rupp also hit a home run in that game. He is on an eight-game hitting streak that has been highlighted by his last two outings in which he has gone a combined 5-for-8 with three RBI and two doubles. Cody Asche also hit a home run in their latest victory. Likewise, Peter Bourjos singled to extend his hit streak to 12 games.It helps when youve got a guy like Bourjos, who came out of nowhere up to .270, Mackanin said. Thats an unbelievable story in itself. I think the other players feed off things like that. You know, its like, Well I can do it, too. I know thats not a scientific answer, but its the best I can do.No explanation needed. Its apparent that the Phillies are trending upward as the All-Star break looms.Meanwhile, the Braves really have yet to get going, which has led to a forgettable first half. They put together a six-game winning streak in the middle of June but came back down to reality by losing six of eight games immediately afterward.Their problems run the full gamut. The pitching has been unreliable while the hitting has been streaky. The have also had some bad luck.On Saturday, the Braves tied the Marlins in the ninth inning with a Tyler Flowers home run. In the 12th inning, the game-winning hit was delivered by pinch-hitter Jose Fernandez, the Miami pitcher. Things like that only add salt to the wounds.It was eventful, Flowers said, according to MLB.com. I thought we battled well... I think there were a lot of positives to take away. We just couldnt come up with the big hit at the end.That could very well sum up the Braves season: eventful yet left helpless at the end. Andrew Miller Jersey .Y. -- Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse have another World Cup gold medal after winning the two-women bobsled race on Saturday in Lake Placid, N. Joe Carter Jersey . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. http:///...ie-chisenhall-jersey . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. HOUSTON -- Jedd Gyorko is providing enough power to keep banged-up St. Louis going.Gyorko and Tommy Pham each homered to help the Cardinals beat the Houston Astros 8-5 on Tuesday night for their third straight win.Gyorko has 11 of his 18 homers since July 18, including three in his past four games. Its helped keep St. Louis in the NL wild-card race despite injuries to top hitters like Matt Carpenter and Aledmys Diaz.The Cardinals got more bad news Tuesday: outfielder Matt Holliday and reliever Seth Maness are headed for the disabled list. Holliday will have surgery on his right thumb and could miss the remainder of the regular season, while Maness will have Tommy John surgery, likely sidelining him until 2018.Which means Gyorkos bat is becoming all the more important for the Cardinals, who have a one-game lead for the second NL wild-card spot.When he gets going, hes amazing, manager Mike Matheny said. You just dont know when hes going to hit you. When he gets into a good rhythm hes going to sneak up there and do some damage.The Cardinals roughed up ace Dallas Keuchel (7-12) to overcome a rocky outing from starter Jaime Garcia (10-8). Garcia gave up five runs and seven hits in five innings, including three home runs.It was one of those games where it was a grind for me, Garcia said. I didnt have my best stuff, but the guys picked me up, came through for me and we got the `W so thats all that matters.Seung Hwan Oh pitched a scoreless ninth, striking out three, for his 12th save.Keuchel had his second rough start in the last two weeks. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner allowed six runs and six hits in five innings Tuesday after allowing seven runs in five innings in Detroit on July 31, matching his season high for runs allowed.This is probably the most frustrating loss of the season because of the way we bounced back and got four runs off Jaime and had a lead at home, Keuchel said. I just have to be better than that.Houstons Alex Bregman hit his first major league home run in the first in his 78th career at-bat. Houston erased a 2-0 first-inning deficit with Bregmans homer, a solo homer from Marwin Gonzalez and an RBI single from Jose Altuve. Manny Ramirez Jersey. The Cardinals evened the score 4-4 in the fifth with Phams two-run homer and later extended the lead to 8-4 when Gyorko homered off reliever Pat Neshek for his 18th of the season.Yadier Molina added two RBI for St. Louis despite going 0 for 4.Jason Castro had a solo home run for Houston in the sixth.Altuve singled in the ninth for his 1,000th career hit, becoming the fastest player in franchise history to reach the milestone, doing it in 786 games. Cesar Cedeno previously held the record, reaching 1,000 hits in 889 games, one game faster than Jeff Bagwell.TRAINING ROOMCardinals: Holliday will have surgery Wednesday on his right thumb. Holliday was hit by a pitch against the Cubs last Thursday and could be sidelined through September. ... The Cardinals recalled RHP Sam Tuivailala from Triple-A Memphis.Astros: P Lance McCullers (elbow soreness) will take another week away from throwing, manager A.J. Hinch said. McCullers was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Aug. 3. ... IF Luis Valbuena (hamstring) ran bases Tuesday and took batting practice, with expectations of starting a rehab assignment soon. Valbuena strained his right hamstring on July 27. ... OF Colby Rasmus did light conditioning Tuesday for the first time after undergoing a procedure last Wednesday to remove a cyst in his right ear. He was placed on the disabled list on Aug. 7 and hopes to return around the start of September.UP NEXTCardinals: Carlos Martinez (10-7, 3.34) will try to get his first win in four starts. He has a 7.36 ERA across his first two August starts after entering the month with a 2.99 ERA on the season.Astros: Doug Fister (11-7, 3.61) looks to replicate earlier success against St. Louis. He allowed five hits and two runs in 7 1/3 innings against the Cardinals on June 14, earning the win. He also won his last start against Minnesota despite allowing five runs and eight hits in seven innings. ' ' '