Braves Rough Up Halladay, Beat Phillies

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Freddie Freeman hit a three-run homer to back Mike Minor and the Atlanta Braves roughed up Roy Halladay to move closer to clinching a postseason berth with an 8-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.

The win coupled with Milwaukee’s 10-4 loss to Washington reduced Atlanta’s magic number for securing a playoff spot to three. The Braves were up 8½ games through Sept. 5 last year, but went 9-18 down the stretch and were overtaken by St. Louis on the final day of the season.

The Phillies fell four games behind the Cardinals for the NL’s second wild-card spot with only 10 games remaining. The five-time defending NL East champions had won four in a row and 12 of 15 to get in the race.