ATLANTA -- A three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves moved the Phillies out of last place in the NL East and provided a huge confidence boost for their hitters. [url=http://www.cheapnhlcustomjerseys.com/]Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys[/url] . Ryan Howard capped a big series by driving in two runs with three

ATLANTA -- A three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves moved the Phillies out of last place in the NL East and provided a huge confidence boost for their hitters. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . Ryan Howard capped a big series by driving in two runs with three hits and the Phillies battered Aaron Harang and the Braves 10-5 on Wednesday. Philadelphia set a season high with 18 hits. Five Phillies had three hits. "Its a good feeling because you put in the work," said Marlon Byrd, who drove in three runs with three hits, including a homer. "It seems like youve put in the work every single day and dont get the results. The results are the key. You start feeling good about yourself. "To come out here the whole series and put up runs against a good staff is huge for us, knowing that the work weve put in is starting to show up on the field." Howard, who hit homers in each of the first two games of the series, drove in a run with a double in the Phillies five-run second inning. He added a run-scoring single in the fifth. He had five hits, four walks and six RBIs in the series in Atlanta, where he has a good history. Howard has 46 career homers against Atlanta, more than against any other team. His 20 homers at Turner Field are his high mark for any road stadium. Asked what made the difference for Howard in the series, Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said "Possibly just some confidence." "This is a place hes hit well so maybe it brought back some positive thoughts," Sandberg said. "He has been seeing the ball real well, made them throw strikes and used the whole field." Evan Gattis hit a two-run homer in Atlantas four-run first inning off Roberto Hernandez (3-5). Ryan Doumit also homered and hit a two-run single for Atlanta. Hernandez overcame his rough first inning to last six innings, giving up five runs and eight hits and five walks. He had been 0-4 in eight starts since his last win on May 4 against Washington. "He had a rough first and the offence bounced right back for him and picked him up there," Sandberg said. Harang (5-6) allowed nine runs, eight earned, in five innings. He threw 115 pitches while allowing 13 hits and three walks. The Phillies have won seven of nine. Atlanta has lost eight of 12. The Phillies sweep knocked the Braves out of first place in the NL East, just in time for a visit to first-place Washington. "Were going to go into D.C. with a little bit of a chip on our shoulders," Doumit said. "This wasnt a good series. It left a bad taste in our mouths, but were going to go take it out on the Nationals." Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez tried a new lineup, and rookie Tommy La Stella was 0 for 4 with a walk in his first game hitting leadoff. "I thought we swung the bats well," Gonzalez said. "We were knocking on the door there almost the entire game trying to get back in it, which is a good sign." Trailing 4-2, the Phillies scored five runs in the second on six straight two-out hits, including a two-run single by John Mayberry Jr., who had three RBIs. Shortstop Cesar Hernandez, batting leadoff for the first time this season, had three hits and scored two runs. Domonic Brown and Will Nieves also had three hits. Nieves left the game with what Sandberg said appeared to be a quadriceps injury. Antonio Bastardo and Ken Giles combined for three scoreless innings behind Hernandez. NOTES: Phillies CF Ben Revere (sore left knee) had a pinch-hit groundout in the eighth. ... The Braves rested several starters including LF Justin Upton, who left Tuesday nights game with dizziness. CF B.J. Upton and SS Andrelton Simmons also received days off. ... Braves LHP Jonny Venters was given a platelet-rich plasma injection in his surgically repaired left elbow. He is trying to come back from his second Tommy John surgery on May 16, 2013, and will rest the elbow for about five weeks. ... Braves RHP Gavin Floyd faces Washington RHP Jordan Zimmermann to open a four-game series on Thursday. ... The Phillies open a four-game series at St. Louis with David Buchanan opposing Shelby Miller in a matchup of right-handers. Fake NHL Jerseys . Hazard lasted just 18 minutes in Tuesdays contest before being substituted with the calf problem, and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes he will be without his star winger for at least the next two weeks. Wholesale NHL Jerseys Online . But sometimes the way you lose takes precedence over the final score. And how the Jets lost the 5-4 game to the New York Islanders on Thursday is what had Coach Claude Noel hot after the game. http://www.cheapnhlcustomjerseys.com/ .C. -- Panthers offensive tackle Jordan Gross is saying goodbye to the NFL after 11 seasons.DENVER -- Early on, Stephen Strasburg didnt have his best stuff and yet the powerful right-hander tried to bear down to keep his team close. Almost paid off, too. The Washington Nationals loaded the bases in the ninth before falling 6-4 to Jorge De La Rosa and the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday. Strasburg (7-8) settled in after a shaky start, giving up four runs -- three of which were in the first -- and nine hits over 5 1-3 innings. "Giving up three runs early, I couldve easily shut it down," Strasburg said. "I didnt want to do that. I wanted to keep it as close as possible. Give the guys a chance to come back -- anything can happen here." And almost did. Closer LaTroy Hawkins got the first two outs in the ninth, before allowing RBI singles to Jayson Werth and Anthony Rendon to make it a 6-4 game. With the bases loaded, Hawkins struck out Ian Desmond to end the rally. "You have to tip your cap sometimes. He did a good job," Desmond said. "He made some pitches on me. "We did a good job battling back right there. We kept on grinding away. Ill take us in that situation a lot of times." Denard Span had four hits for the Nationals, who finished the season series 5-1 against Colorado. He was one of the few to have success against De La Rosa, who gave the Rockies a badly needed boost as they snapped a seven-game skid. "Jorge, another great outing. He did it again," manager Walt Weiss said. "Were scuffling like crazy and he takes the ball and gives us a great performance and wins the game." The Rockies tried a little bit of everything to break out of their funk. They wore their socks high and even engaged in a pregame staring contest. Turns out, the best cure for their slump was simply the left arm of De La Rosa. De La Rosa (11-6) struck out a season-high 11 as he pitched efficiently into the eighth inning. He kept the Nationals guessing by effectively mixing in a changeup with his 89-mph cutter. "All my pitches were working really good today," said De La Rosa, who allowed two runs -- one earned -- before being lifted for a reliever with one out in the eighth. Wholesale NHL Jerseys Authentic. "My command of all my pitches was really good today." The Rockies decided as a team to wear their socks high, just to try something new. Even Weiss followed the trend. This helped ease the tension, too: Prior to the first pitch, Rockies outfielder Brandon Barnes and Nationals reliever Aaron Barrett engaged in quite a stare-down, with both players standing near the dugout holding their hats over their chest to see who would blink first. After several minutes, Barnes finally gestured toward Barrett that they settle it with a game of rock-paper-scissor. Right after De La Rosas warmup pitches, home plate umpire Paul Emmel told Barnes go into the dugout, with Barrett throwing his hands up in triumph. "Well do any stare-down to win games, for sure," joked Nolan Arenado. Once again, De La Rosa mastered a park that typically isnt friendly to pitchers. Hes 42-14 lifetime at Coors Field. "This is the perfect park for me," he said. Usually, its the hitters saying that. De La Rosa had his pitches dancing all day. He struck out Bryce Harper three times. The Nationals were just 1 of 14 with runners in scoring position off De La Rosa. "He knows how to pitch here," Nationals manager Matt Williams said. "Hes got a surprising fast ball when he needs it, but he relies on his changeup a lot. Thats a great strategy here. "Hes a good pitcher. He pitches well." The Nationals were without infielder Ryan Zimmerman, who went on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a strained right hamstring. "Its a pretty substantial strain of the hamstring," Williams said. "You never know how its going to react, so well just take it day by day. Its going to be a couple of weeks at least. Well see where he is at the end of that and go from there. He pulled it good." NOTES: Werth wasnt in the starting lineup because of a tender right knee. ... The Nationals are off Thursday before opening a three-game series in Cincinnati. ' ' '