A rocky debut for Ethan Martin as Braves top Phillies

Ethan Martin muttered into his glove as he walked off the mound in the fifth inning, his eyes glassy. Teammates gave him consoling pats on the back. After a promising start, he had come undone. In his major-league debut, he allowed six runs.

He walked slowly, and the Phillies fans cheered loudly and without irony. Some stood. The Phillies lost to the Braves, 6-4, for their 11th loss in 12 games. The score no longer matters for this team. However briefly, this pitcher who lasted just 4 1/3 innings provided a glimmer of hope.

The Phillies trailed first-place Atlanta by 6 1/2 games at the all-star break. They are now 14 1/2 back after a two-week malaise dizzying in both its swiftness and magnitude.

Martin filled in for Cliff Lee, who missed his second start in a row with neck stiffness and will return Sunday. He is one of the Phillies' more promising prospects. He is the only player still with the organization from the deal that sent Shane Victorino to the Dodgers last year. In his last nine starts with triple-A Lehigh Valley he went 6-2 with a 2.55 ERA.

Martin overpowered the Braves early. He retired six of the first seven, four on strikeouts. In the first two innings, his fastball hovered around 96 m.p.h. The Phillies led 2-0.

"He's got a lot of talent," Charlie Manuel said. "I liked what I saw from him, really. I liked everything about it."

Then the adrenaline wore off, and the Braves caught up. Martin's fastball velocity settled.

"They're gonna make you pay up here," Martin said.

In the fifth inning, Brian McCann tomahawked a three-run home run. Chris Johnson homered on the next pitch.

Martin watched the ball go out. He bent over as it cleared the wall, his cheeks puffed in a grimace. He lasted just one more batter.

The crowd cheered as Martin exited, but there was little else to cheer about, at least once the game started. The game was delayed 31 minutes by a ceremony honoring Curt Schilling's induction to the Wall of Fame. Many of his 1993 pennant-winning teammates were there. Remembering that team, Manuel said they "looked like they had a lot of laughter.

"But that comes from winning, too," he said.

Martin's face was forlorn as he walked to the dugout. Later, in the ninth inning, Manuel was ejected by first-base umpire Gary Cederstrom after a Delmon Young foul-tip strikeout that appeared to hit the dirt. Soon after, Jimmy Rollins was ejected from the dugout by home plate umpire Vic Carapazza.

There are 53 games remaining in the season. There is little hope left, but after the game, Manuel managed to chuckle at the absurdity. He quickly apologized.

"Listen, I don't mean to laugh," he said. "Losing is nothing to laugh about."

Contact Zach Helfand at zhelfand@philly.com. Follow @zhelfand on Twitter.