Rollins, Phillies Slam Braves

Atlanta fails to clinch wild-card berth as Phils win 11-5

Jimmy Rollins' grand slam capped a five-run sixth inning and the Phillies beat Atlanta 11-5 on Friday night to keep Bobby Cox and the Braves from moving closer to a wild-card berth.

The Braves opened the final regular-season series two games ahead of San Diego in the NL wild-card race. The Padres played later at NL West-leading San Francisco.

Rollins made his third start since returning from a tight right hamstring. With their spark plug back in the lineup, the NL East champions had 13 hits and looked ready for the postseason.

J-Roll got some help from his friends. Ryan Howard had two hits, including a two-run single in a four-run eighth. Carlos Ruiz had three hits.

Kyle Kendrick (11-10) gave up five hits and two runs in five innings.

Braves rookie Brandon Beachy (0-2) allowed seven hits and four runs, two earned, in 5 2-3 innings in his first home start.

The Braves, who lost three straight games at Philadelphia from Sept. 20-22, took the lopsided loss before a sellout crowd of 51,139.

The same teams face off again Saturday as the Braves plan a tribute to retiring manager Bobby Cox beforehand.


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