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ATLANTA -- Brandon Beachy keeps making progress in his return from elbow ligament replacement surgery. And now that hes reintroducing the slider to his repertoire, his confidence is growing. "Im starting to work on sequences and throwing pitches -- breaking balls -- for strikes, stuff like that," Beachy said. "Hopefully keep moving in that direction." Beachy pitched six strong innings, Chris Johnson drove in three runs and Jason Heyward homered and to help the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 on Wednesday night. The Braves, who have won two straight and 17 of 19, lead the majors with a .612 winning percentage. Philadelphia, which has lost seven of eight series since All-Star break, has dropped 19 of 23. The Phillies have lost 13 of 14 on the road. Rain delayed the start of the game 1 hour, 48 minutes. Beachy (2-0) held the Phillies scoreless until Dominic Browns 27th homer cut the lead to 5-2 with one out in the sixth. John Lannan (3-6) lasted only 1 1-3 innings -- the shortest outing in a career spanning 148 starts -- before leaving with a left knee injury. Beachy, making his fourth start since returning from surgery, allowed five hits, two runs and no walks. The right-hander struck out four, beating Philadelphia for the first time in nine career starts. Beachy has been waiting to bring back his slider, which is traditionally the last pitch to return to form after Tommy John surgery. He missed 105 games before returning July 29. "Its something that Im still going to have to work at to get the feel for it and really be confident with it," Beachy said. "Whether its effective or not, if I keep it down, its something theyre going to have to think about." Craig Kimbrel converted his 28th consecutive save opportunity and 38th in 41 chances, striking out John Mayberry Jr., retiring Carlos Ruiz on a flyout and pinch-hitter Kevin Frandsen on a groundout. Kimbrel entered the game with none out in the ninth after David Carpenter allowed a leadoff homer to Darin Ruf and walked Cody Asche. The Braves went up 2-0 in the first on Heywards leadoff homer and Johnsons sacrifice fly. Lannan escaped further damage with runners on first and third when B.J. Upton took a called third strike, but his troubles continued in the second with a one-out walk to Beachy. Heyward doubled on a liner off third baseman Asche that advanced Beachy to third, and after Justin Upton walked on five pitches, Lannans night was over. Atlanta took a 5-0 lead after the next Philadelphia pitcher, Zack Miner, gave up Freddie Freemans sacrifice fly and Johnsons two-run single. Johnson leads the NL and ranks second in the majors with a .337 batting average. "Im just trying to take the same approach every time up there," Johnson said. "Hopefully I can stay as consistent as possible that way." Lannan gave up four hits and five runs with three walks and one strikeout. Coming off a 9-2 loss last Friday at Washington in which he allowed a career high-tying eight earned runs, he is 1-5 with a 10.50 ERA in his last six road starts. "Every time I push off theres a pain in the knee," said Lannan, who will visit an orthopedist on Thursday. "Im trying to get through that and everything else is tightening up. I want to get this thing fixed. Thats what it comes down to." Philadelphia, which stranded runners in scoring position three times in the first four innings, has been outscored 85-30 over its last 15 road games. Beachy, who left for a pinch hitter in the sixth, improved to 1-3 and lowered his ERA to 3.67 in nine career starts against Philadelphia. Luis Ayala and Luis Avilan combined to allow one hit with one strikeout in the seventh and eighth for Atlanta before Rufs seventh homer made it 6-3. Heywards 11th homer gave him 12 RBIs since moving to the leadoff spot on July 27 -- a span of 18 games in which hes hit .382 and scored 20 runs. Notes: Heyward was nearly charged with his first error of the season when he ran in from right field, knocked over 2B Tyler Pastornicky and dropped Jimmy Rollins pop fly in the third. An official scoring change announced in the sixth gave Rollins a double. ... Pastornicky left before the top of the fourth with a sprained left knee. The Braves announced that he will be re-evaluated on Thursday. ... Brown has three homers in his last eight games. ... SS Andrelton Simmons, whom manager Fredi Gonzalez wanted to give the night off, took his place on the field and went 1 for 2 with one run scored. Paul Janish moved to second. ... Janish was hitless in his last 27 at-bats, dating back to Aug. 31, 2012, at home against Philadelphia, before his third-inning single. ... Three of Philadelphias eight hits were infield singles. ... Braves CF B.J. Upton went 0 for 4, lowering his batting average to .188, with one strikeout and three stranded runners. ... RF Justin Upton tied a career-high with three walks. Clayton Richard Jersey . Just as the meeting was beginning, Major League Baseball unveiled Rule 7.13, an experimental rule for the 2014 season aimed at eliminating what the league calls “egregious” runner/catcher collisions at home plate. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Blue Jays Jersey . Rico dove horizontally to meet Andoni Iraolas precise long cross from the right to score his second league goal of the season in the 33rd minute. Two minutes later, Aritz Aduriz netted Bilbaos second when he raced forward and pounced on a poor clearance by Villarreal defender Mateo Musacchio, sending a low shot rolling past goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo. http://www.bluejaysonline.com/blue-jays-justin-smoak-jersey/ .com) - On the bright side, either the Minnesota Wild or Buffalo Sabres will end their losing streak on Thursday night. Clay Buchholz Blue Jays Jersey . His big 2-minute outburst in the fourth quarter Tuesday night is all that really mattered for the Dallas Mavericks. Aaron Sanchez Blue Jays Jersey . Meanwhile, the Jets extended their winning streak to four and remain perfect under Paul Maurice. Its the Jets second four-game winning streak of the season, the other coming in mid-November.Mike OShea hates losing. The first-year head coach has made that much crystal clear in his pair of post-game media sessions. His Blue Bombers are winless and their preseason schedule is complete. Now two days into a 12-day stretch before the regular season begins, Winnipegs freshly-minted field general is communicating optimism and relaying the positives in his football club. "I think the offence did a great job," OShea told reporters on Monday afternoon, his first availability in Winnipeg following the Bombers 23-20 loss in Calgary on Saturday. "When you look at the numbers to go along with that film — no two-and-outs, 26 first downs — that should be good enough to win." But its tough to beat a team like the Calgary Stampeders at McMahon when you spot them a 14-point lead after a quarter of play. So is OShea at all concerned with his starting defence allowing touchdown drives of 52 and 59 yards in Calgarys first three possessions, and 129 rushing yards in the first half? "No. No, I am not concerned at all. I know what weve put in and I know that well keep working. The effort is there. The buy-in is there. Im excited, actually. I got pulled out of the defensive meeting to come (speak to media). I just missed some great stuff." This seems somewhat contradictory when you look at the ease in which the Stampeders offence trotted down the field in the opening twenty minutes when it was starters versus starters. OShea has stated that coordinator Gary Etcheverrys defence has been purposefully "vanilla" in their preseason looks, keeping their cards close to the vest. And consider the likes of Johnny Sears and Donovan Alexander — two probable Week 1 starters — were also out of Saturdays lineup as they continue to recover from groin and calf injuries, respectively. The offence, meanwhile, indeed looked calculated and collected with Drew Willy at the helm. The first-year starter finished his day 14-of-23 for 172 yards, and could have been upwards of 70 per cent passing if it werent for a few easily caught balls that slipped through the hands of his receivers. "We started slow again, I think as an entire team. We have to find a way to rectify that," said OShea when questioned about his offence. "I thought the offence performed very well. I thought they played with a lot of heart. They played a real physical style. We ran the ball. We threw the ball. We moved the ball down the field. We moved the ball out from our own end. Maybe we didnt capitalize on enough of those opportunities down deep. Theres some very positive things." "We are still evaluating the No. 2 (quarterback) position, for sure," added OShea. "But yes, it was important to put Drew (Willy) back out there, and to give credit where its due, (offeensive coordinator) Marcel (Bellefeuille) came to me (at halftime) and said, lets put him back out.dddddddddddd And we did." Keeping Willy in for the opening possession of the third quarter proved shrewd, as he engineered his third scoring drive on 10 plays that covered 76 yards before stalling on first-and-goal. Coming out after the break and continuing to build in-game experience with his receivers, backs, and linemen should prove worthwhile as the new No. 1 establishes chemistry with the pieces around him. Quarterbacks Brian Brohm, Max Hall, and Robert Marve all saw time running Winnipegs offence in preseason games, and it looks from afar that a decision will have to be made between Brohm and Hall as to who will backup Willy. Young Marves cannon-arm, deep ball accuracy, and ability to turn up field and dash for first downs will likely see him stick around as he familiarizes himself with the Canadian game. Its been a while since there has been a young project pivot in Winnipeg. The potential is there. Injury Report: Several projected starters missed the game in Calgary, including slotbacks Nick Moore (back) and Cory Watson (hamstring), cornerback Donovan Alexander (calf), and defensive back/linebacker Johnny Sears (groin). OShea says Watson will finally return to practice this week after sitting out since Day 2 of camp... Another National slotback, Julian Feoli-Gudino, suffered a "lower-body" injury late last week and looks to return soon, as the club may have to start him next to Watson and Rory Kohlert in a three-National receiver set since the loss of defensive tackle Ryan Lucas for the season with an ACL tear... The old adage You cant make the club from the tub is beginning to find reference alongside every mention of 2013 All-Star running back Will Fords name as of late. The position battle between rookies Nic Grigsby and Paris Cotton is reaching critical mass, and Fords layup since Day 3 of camp with a hamstring pull just may cost him his job... Speaking of Cotton, who was again impressive with the ball in his second preseason game (5 carries for 58 yards, 2 receptions for 24 yards), suffered an undisclosed leg injury late on Saturday. The explosive and slippery tailback is receiving assessment from the doctor on Monday and an update will be provided this week... According to the media release sent out by the team Monday morning, National linebacker Graig Newman, whom Kyle Walters targeted aggressively in free agency this winter, will "miss the 2014 season" with a dislocated and fractured ankle. Mike OShea isnt so sure stating, "Im not saying hes done for the season... Im optimistic and so is (Newman). Well see him soon... Ask me again in a couple months. Three months, possibly. Hes got a good spirit." Newman underwent surgery on Monday. ' ' '