Burrell's hit sinks Braves
ATLANTA — It's too early for Pat Burrell and the Philadelphia Phillies to bring out the champagne, though a bottle of Georgia peach wine might be appropriate.
Burrell, batting below .200 since July, hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth inning and Philadelphia beat the Braves 4-3 on Thursday night to complete an unprecedented sweep of the nine-game season series in Atlanta.
"It's that time of the year when you take pride in being able to help when it counts," Burrell said.
The Phillies remained a half-game ahead of the Mets in the NL East with their season-best seventh straight win. New York beat Washington 7-2.
Philadelphia is the first team to sweep a season series longer than four games in Atlanta. They swept three three-game series at Turner Field by a combined score of 49-24.
"They pitched better and hit better and that's pretty much how it's been all year," Braves pitcher Mike Hampton said.
Cole Hamels (14-9) gave up six hits and two runs in six innings to improve to 3-0 in four starts against the Braves this season.
Chipper Jones walked and scored on McCann's double in the first, and the Braves tied the game in the second on Casey Kotchman's first homer since he was acquired from Texas on July 29. Mark Teixeira, sent to the Angels in the trade, has 11 homers for Los Angeles.
The 2-2 tie lasted until the sixth, when Burrell hit a two-run homer, his 32nd, about 10 rows into the left-field seats.
Hampton gave up six hits and four runs, two earned, in seven innings.The Braves scored an unearned run off Ryan Madson in the seventh.
