Phillies at Braves: August 12th to August 14th

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 7:10
Turner Field - Atlanta, GA

Phillies 52-65, 4th Place in the N.L. East, 19 1/2 games behind the Braves
Braves 72-46, 1st Place in the N.L. East, 14 1/2 games ahead of the Nationals

Phillies Probables:  Cole Hamels (4-13, 3.81), Ethan Martin (1-1, 6.75), John Lannan (3-5, 4.81)
Braves Probables:  Julio Teheran (9-5, 2.96), Kris Medlen (9-10, 3.85), Brandon Beachy (1-0, 5.00)

At the Ballpark:  There are a few theme-related ticket discounts available at The Ted for this series, but no other giveaways are scheduled.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Domonic Brown - .274

Runs:  Domonic Brown - 55

Home Runs:  Domonic Brown - 25

RBIs:  Domonic Brown - 75

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 22

Wins:  Kyle Kendrick and Cliff Lee - 10

ERA:  Cliff Lee - 3.18

Strikeouts:  Cliff Lee - 145

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 20

1973 Topps #550

1973 Topps Flashback:  The Phillies are coming off a series with the division rival Nationals, and to say things didn't go well is a huge understatement.  At the helm for the Nationals this year is Davey Johnson, who has already announced that he'll step down as manager following the season.  Johnson had hoped to return to the postseason with the Nationals, but it's looking more and more likely that he'll be headed home at the end of September.  This is in spite of the Phillies best efforts to help the Nationals look like a decent ballclub.

As a player, after a successful run with the Orioles from 1965 to 1972, Johnson was traded to the Braves following the 1972 season.  I don't say this very often, but Topps actually did a half-decent job with the complete airbrushing job done to Johnson's Orioles uniform.  The photo on this card is taken from a game against the Yankees on September 17, 1972, and please see here and here for further excellent reading.

Johnson was the Braves' regular second baseman in 1973, hitting .270 with 43 home runs and 99 RBIs while making his first and only N.L. All-Star squad.  (He had been an All-Star three times with the Orioles).  He played both first and second for the Braves in 1974 before being released just three games into the 1975 season.

Johnson latched on with the Tokyo Giants for their 1975 and 1976 seasons before signing as a free agent with the Phillies in February 1977.  Johnson played in parts of two seasons with the Phillies, hitting .273 in 122 games.  His sole Phillies baseball card can be found in the 1978 Topps set.