Dropping Fast

ATLANTA - This time, J.A. Happ could not do it alone.

The young lefthander, who ended the Phillies' last losing streak with a complete-game shutout, pitched seven gritty innings last night, but the offense and bullpen did nothing for him. The Phillies dropped their third straight to the Atlanta Braves, 5-2, because of three eighth-inning runs allowed by Ryan Madson, and they limped home without sole possession of first place for the first time since May 29.

The Phils fell into a virtual tie with Florida atop the National League East, after losing 12 of 15, including six of nine during a road trip that is mercifully over. Manager Charlie Manuel noted another example of the same pattern that has bothered him for weeks: The Phillies' pitching and offense cannot seem to play well in the same game.

"Happ did a heck of a job and we couldn't score," Manuel said. "That's how we're playing. Our game is not together. We're all screwed up. When we pitch, we don't hit, and when we hit, we don't pitch."

Happ was good, but he could not rescue his team as he did on Saturday. After last Friday's embarrassing loss to Toronto, Happ's steady presence and aggressive approach provided a needed change in tone for a team lacking sharpness. He pitched a complete game, five-hit shutout, and the Phillies went on to win the series against the Blue Jays. The series in Atlanta had already been lost before last night's game, but the Phils, eager to avoid the indignity of a sweep, again turned to Happ.

"Sometimes you just have to be better than the other guy," said Happ, who allowed a two-run homer to Casey Kotchman in the fourth inning and no other runs. "You've just got to put up zeros sometimes, and I wasn't able to."

The 26-year-old lefthander showed characteristic calm, stranding seven Atlanta runners after allowing four leadoff hits. "Those are just big situations where you need to bear down the best you can," Happ said.

Impressed, Manuel presented the tiring rookie with a test in the seventh inning. The score was tied at 2, and Kotchman began led off with a single. Pinch-runner Kelly Johnson moved to second on a sacrifice, and Martin Prado later drew a two-out walk, bringing up Chipper Jones.

In the dugout, Manuel looked at pitching coach Rich Dubee and said, "Now is a good time to let it be his game."

Happ was fatigued and overthrew several pitches to fall behind 3-1. But he got Jones to fly to center. "He did a good job," Manuel said.

The lift, however, was short-lived. The play that turned the game happened in the next inning, after Jayson Werth walked, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Brian McCann. When pitcher Mike Gonzalez launched a wild pitch that bounced off the wall behind home plate, Werth dashed down the line, and was thrown out to end the inning.

"That's momentum," Manuel said of the play. "That stopped us."

Madson then endured another in a recent string of ineffective innings, and a night that once presented the chance for a dramatic comeback fizzled into further disappointment. "You don't lose games in the eighth inning and expect to be a winning team," Manuel said.