Matt Kemp’s RBI double capped a two-run first inning that set Phillies starter Ben Lively back and provided sufficient support to R.A. Dickey. The Braves’ knuckleballer completed his most impressive start of the season, leading Atlanta to a 3-1 win over the Phillies on Thursday night at SunTrust Park.
Dickey surrendered three hits without a walk, as he recorded a season-high eight strikeouts and limited the Phillies to one run over seven innings. Dickey gained comfort in the first inning when Nick Markakis and Kemp drove in runs against Lively, who allowed three earned runs over seven innings in his second career start.
Odubel Herrera’s leadoff double in the seventh inning positioned him to score on Maikel Franco’s two-out single. Tommy Joseph’s leadoff single in the second accounted for the only other hit surrendered by Dickey, who retired 15 straight before Herrera’s double.
Lively stranded two in the third inning and induced a double play after allowing consecutive singles to begin the fifth. But his attempt to escape again in the sixth evaporated when Matt Adams scored from first base on a Tyler Flowers double that left the bat at 110.9 mph and sailed over Herrera’s head in center field.
Joseph opened the second for the Phillies with a single and advanced to second base on a passed ball. After a Franco fly ball to center field moved Joseph to third, Dickey killed the threat with a Michael Saunders strikeout and Cameron Rupp’s popup. Dickey didn’t allow another Phillies batter to reach base until Herrera’s double in the seventh.
