Beachsaison 2012 » Not bad for a defenceman. The goal

ATLANTA -- Philadelphia Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg sensed it would be a good night for Kyle Kendrick when the right-hander threw his first six pitches for strikes. "They were quality pitches, and it pretty much lasted throughout the outing," Sandberg said. "Probably his best outing of the year as far as establishing command and the quality of pitches." Ryan Howard homered, Kendrick won consecutive starts for the first time in 11 months and the Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 5-2 on Tuesday night. The Phillies, winners of two straight and six of eight, got a solid start from Kendrick (3-6), who had gone 2-11 in his previous 20 starts since last Aug. 11. Kendrick allowed six hits and two runs with one walk and six strikeouts in seven innings. Not since he beat Washington last July 11 and won at the New York Mets last July 19 had Kendrick won two straight starts. The right-hander was coming off a 7-3 victory last week against San Diego. "I was able to get ahead most of the night," Kendrick said. "I was down and trying to pound the strike zone. I think that was the main thing. In the first inning, most of (the pitches) were down." Atlanta has lost seven of 11 and 13 of 21. Ervin Santana (5-4) continued to struggle, giving up eight hits and four runs -- three earned -- with three walks in six innings. Santana, who struck out five, is 1-4 with a 6.17 ERA in his last seven starts. "It was a little better, yeah, but it was it tough battling out there," Santana said. "The pitch that Howard hit was a good pitch. Just one of those days." The Phillies took a 2-0 lead in the first when Jimmy Rollins led off with a double and Howard hit his 13th homer. In 71 career games at Turner Field, Howard is hitting .277 with 20 homers and 69 RBIs. Howard also homered in Mondays 6-1, 13-inning victory. "Youre just trying to find some real estate, trying to get a good pitch to hit," Howard said. "I was fortunate enough to do that. It landed on the other side of the fence and gave us an early lead." Philadelphia, which had its leadoff hitter reach safely in eight innings, went up 4-0 in the fourth. Dominic Brown led off with a walk, advanced to third on Reid Brignacs double and scored on a passed ball by Gerald Laird. Brignac, who moved to third on the passed ball, scored on Cesar Hernandezs RBI single. Atlanta made it 4-1 in the fourth on Jason Heywards RBI single. The Braves cut the lead to 4-2 in the seventh when Chris Johnson led off with a double, moved to third Andrelton Simmons single and scored on Lairds double-play groundout. Simmons, named last years top defender in the NL, had a rare two-error inning in the ninth that helped Marlon Byrd reach second on an infield single and score from third on Browns fielders choice grounder for a 5-2 lead. Closer Jonathan Papelbon recovered from a blown save Monday to record his 16th save in 18 chances. Papelbon retired pinch-hitter Ryan Doumit on a lineout, Tommy La Stella on a groundout and Johnson on a lineout. NOTES: The Braves announced that LF Justin Upton left the game after six innings because of dizziness. ... Philadelphia CF Ben Revere missed the game with a sore knee after hitting the wall Monday. Sandberg said Revere is day-to-day. John Mayberry Jr. started in Reveres place. ... Phillies LHP Cliff Lee, on the DL since May 20 with a strained elbow, threw off a mound before the game. ... Phillies 2B Chase Utley walked as a pinch-hitter in the eighth. ... Braves RHP David Carpenter was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained right biceps. RHP Pedro Beato, recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett, pitched a scoreless seventh, but walked the bases loaded in the eighth. ... Braves C Evan Gattis, who got the night off, has a franchise-long 16-game hitting streak for a catcher. Del Crandall, in 1958, and Joe Torre, in 1967, had 15-game streaks. Dexter Williams Youth Jersey .C. - NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick headlines this years electees into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. Elgton Jenkins Packers Jersey . -- For one night, Nick Calathes provided a big reason to believe the Memphis Grizzlies might be able to withstand the loss of Mike Conley on a short-term basis. http://www.packersrookiestore.com/Packers-Darnell-Savage-Jr-Jersey/ . The Canucks figured to be active prior to Wednesdays trade deadline, getting a jump on things the previous day when they dealt goaltender Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers for netminder Jacob Markstrom and forward Shawn Matthias. Dexter Williams Packers Jersey .com) - Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were among the third-round winners Friday at the French Open. Paul Hornung Jersey . Not bad for a defenceman. The goal, that is. Although the shuffling dance steps werent bad, either. Barrie scored 55 seconds into overtime, Semyon Varlamov stopped 29 shots, and the Avalanche moved a step closer to their first playoff berth in four years with a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night.San Diego, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Houston Astros have bolstered their bullpen with the signing of right-hander Luke Gregerson. The two sides agreed to a three-year, $18.5 million contract on Wednesday, according to USA Today. Houston landed a quality arm in the 30-year-old Gregerson after failing to sign rrelievers Andrew Miller and David Robertson.dddddddddddd Gregerson pitched for the Oakland Athletics in 2014, going 5-5 with three saves and a 2.12 earned run average in 72 appearances. He spent the first five seasons of his career with the San Diego Padres and has a lifetime ERA of 2.75 in 435 games. ' ' '