Turner Field

Five hours before the first pitch, a couple of dozen fans lined the fence that encloses the players' parking lot at Turner Field. As each Braves player wheeled in, as usual, the people shouted words of encouragement and requests for autographs. This, of course, was anything but business-as-usual, even though the arrival of John Rocker was greeted with the ritual cheers. This was the closer's first game back from the suspension imposed after his comments in Sports Illustrated about gays, minorities, foreigners and New Yorkers jolted the national consciousness last December.

For the Atlanta Braves, this three-game series was another routine tune-up for their seventh straight excursion into the postseason. For the Phillies, it was three more losses and a painful reminder of how very far they are from measuring up to the class of their division. "They're just much better than we are," the glum-looking Curt Schilling said while he packed his bags after the Phils' 5-1 loss yesterday at Turner Field. The Braves outscored the Phils, 12-3, in the series.

ATLANTA - The Avett Brothers performed a postgame concert at Turner Field following Sunday's series finale, and it always seems as if the Braves are booking musical guests when the Phillies are in town. Last season, The Beach Boys and REO Speedwagon played after Phillies-Braves games. Later this season, Ludacris will play a postgame concert after the Phillies-Braves game on May 14. Alas, the Phillies are not in town when the B-52s and Yacht Rock Revue play postgame concerts this season.

ATLANTA - They love Bobby Cox here so it was right that the loudest Turner Field got during pregame festivities for opening night was when the retired manager threw the first pitch to current Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. Cox, wearing khakis and his old home white No. 6 jersey, threw a strike to Gonzalez and then tipped his cap on his way to the stands, where he became a fan just like everyone else. It makes you wonder what the Phillies will do once Charlie Manuel hangs 'em up. Will he be carried into Citizens Bank Park on a chariot?

Playing at: Lakewood (A) Position: Starting pitcher Height: 6-3. Weight: 190. Age: 22. Born: May 11, 1989 in Atlanta. Bats: Right. Throws: Right. How obtained: Drafted in the seventh round (No. 231 overall) in 2010. This season: Coasted through the first 2 months, but has been roughed up a bit in his last three starts (1-2, 7.88 ERA) . . . Overall, Buchanan is 8-4 with a 3.21 ERA. He leads the South Atlantic League in wins and will start tonight's SAL All-Star Game (at Delmarva in Salisbury, Md., 7:30 p.m.)

ATLANTA - Quite possibly the best pregame fan contest in baseball is held here at Turner Field. Normally once a homestand, three contestants and one Braves player participate in a closest-to-the-pin game. On Saturday, it was infielder Brooks Conrad's turn. They set up a small plot of turf in the on-deck circle and a flag in center field. Conrad took the high-iron club and hit the golf ball to within 15 feet of the pin. Usually the Braves player has the best shot. This time, two of the fan contestants couldn't even chip the ball out of the infield.

1:05, Turner Field, Atlanta. TV: Comcast SportsNet Radio: WPHT (1210-AM); WUBA (1480-AM) Spanish. Phillies RHP Kyle Kendrick (3-2, 5.04) vs. Braves RHP Derek Lowe (7-4, 4.86)   Three matchups to watch   Kendrick vs. Braves: His last start at Turner Field, when he allowed four hits in eight scoreless innings of a 4-3 loss on April 20, may have turned his season around. Including that game, he is 3-2 with a 3.62 ERA in eight starts. Lowe vs. Phillies: The veteran righthander has already faced them twice this season, allowing five runs in five innings of an 8-3 loss on April 22, and seven runs on 11 hits in five innings of a 7-0 loss on May 7. Since that last start against the Phillies, Lowe has posted a 2.88 ERA and held opponents to a .224 average in four starts.

The Phillies will face the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on Sunday, May 15 in the annual Civil Rights Game, Major League Baseball announced. Game time is 2 p.m. This will be the fifth annual game that began in Memphis in 2007 with an exhibition between the St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Indians. The game is part of a 4-day event to pay tribute to those who fought on and off the field for equal rights. Players will wear throwback uniforms from the Negro Leagues; there will be pregame ceremonies recognizing the 2011 MLB Beacon Award recipients and on-field civil rights-themed musical performances.

Must-see TV As someone who has spent a lot of time in both a baseball clubhouse and a football locker room, I really am fascinated at how different the two places are. There are plenty of TVs in football locker rooms, but because there is so little downtime between meetings and practice, the players rarely watch them unless one of their colleges is playing. In baseball, of course, there is a lot of waiting, especially when you are the visiting team and have to take batting practice after the home team.

Turning points are rarely so easily marked, even given the blessing of hindsight. At least the Braves don't have to wonder when or where or how their star began to fall. That cosmic moment occurred late on the evening of Oct. 23, 1996, in the top of the eighth at the old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium when Mark Wohlers threw and Yankees catcher Jim Leyritz swung and the ball disappeared over the fence. They have never been quite the same since. How fitting, then, that the same two teams will assemble once again tomorrow night at glitzy Turner Field, right across Ralph David Abernathy Drive from the site of Atlanta's undoing, to contest the final World Series of this decade, century, millennium.

Playing at: Lakewood (A) Position: Starting pitcher Height: 6-3. Weight: 190. Age: 22. Born: May 11, 1989 in Atlanta. Bats: Right. Throws: Right. How obtained: Drafted in the seventh round (No. 231 overall) in 2010. This season: Coasted through the first 2 months, but has been roughed up a bit in his last three starts (1-2, 7.88 ERA) . . . Overall, Buchanan is 8-4 with a 3.21 ERA. He leads the South Atlantic League in wins and will start tonight's SAL All-Star Game (at Delmarva in Salisbury, Md., 7:30 p.m.)

The Texas Rangers were swept in their first series at Turner Field 8 years ago, so they played like a different team in their return to Atlanta. "The Texas Globetrotters?" second baseman Ian Kinsler asked. "Is that what we are now?" The Rangers made some fancy defensive plays and Josh Hamilton had four hits, including a two-run homer, to beat the Atlanta Braves, 6-2, last night and protect their lead in the AL West. Colby Lewis and Nelson Cruz shook off slumps in the win as Texas, which began the night with a half-game lead over Seattle in the AL West, snapped a five-game losing streak.

ATLANTA - Joe Blanton's right elbow still hurts. He has pitched in 10 innings (with only one clean frame) after 15 days of inactivity designed to cure the soreness. His velocity is still less than usual, and the Phillies' decision-makers thought 74 pitches Saturday was his limit physically. "I still felt like I had something left," Blanton said. "I felt better than in the last start, so . . . " That is optimism for another day. In a 5-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves, Blanton's inability to pitch deep hurt the Phillies on a day when no hits were guaranteed against Jair Jurrjens.

ATLANTA - Mike Stutes knew he was in trouble the moment he let it go. The first two sliders he had thrown had missed low, but the one he delivered on his 2-1 pitch went in the opposite direction, hanging so long over the inner half of the plate that Dan Uggla's eyes almost popped. All he could do was turn and hope that the slugger's mammoth fly ball went foul. "Duck and cover," Stutes said. Fortunately for the Phillies - as well as the 24-year-old righthander they sent to the mound with the bases loaded and one out in a tie game - Uggla's seventh-inning drive sailed to the left of the leftfield foul pole.

ATLANTA - Vin Scully, baseball broadcasting's poet laureate, once talked about keeping the sport in perspective. It was important, he noted, to remember there's life beyond the outfield walls. He was right, of course. At the same time, those fences are imperfect barriers, at best. For most fans, baseball is a sanctuary from their workaday burdens. For those in the game, it's their vocation. For everyone, outside cares and concerns cross the boundary all the time. The Phillies and Braves faced off at Turner Field last night.

ATLANTA - When Dan Uggla blistered a Michael Stutes slider that did not slide about 400 feet foul into the Phillies bullpen, Carlos Ruiz went to the mound for a chat with his 24-year-old reliever. The bases were loaded Friday night with one out in the seventh inning of a tie game. Ruiz told Stutes they were going without signs. They would throw a slider here and nothing else. It is Stutes' "out" pitch, and they were either going to win or lose with the slider. Uggla swung and missed for strike three, beginning a stretch of five outs recorded by Phillies pitchers ages 24, 25, and 23. "Fun," Stutes said.

ATLANTA - This tense game was won when Raul Ibanez hit a ball past first base (that could have been snared) to score Ryan Howard (even though the relay throw beat the hulking slugger home) from second. Atlanta catcher Brian McCann could not handle the ball, and the latest break in a weird game went the Phillies' way. But the effort from the youth in the bullpen in the Phillies' 5-4 win Friday night will be what is most remembered about this night. J.C. Romero, the 34-year-old lefthander the team is paying $1.35 million to retire lefties, stumbled and loaded the bases on a double and two walks (one intentional)

The Braves did it all. Pitched well. Went deep. Manufactured runs. Played some brilliant defense. Tommy Hanson pitched four-hit ball over seven innings for his first win, Jason Heyward and Brian McCann homered, and Chipper Jones drove in two runs to lead Atlanta Braves past visiting Florida, 5-0, last night. Hanson (1-2) finally got a few runs to work with and the Braves turned in several nifty defensive plays, two of them diving stops by shortstop Alex Gonzalez. "We did a little bit of everything," Jones said.

ATLANTA - Charlie Manuel mounted a stationary bike in the middle of the visiting clubhouse at Turner Field and began a light workout a few hours before Sunday's crisp 3-0 victory over the Braves. Cole Hamels stood adjacent to the bike, doing his shoulder exercises, and Manuel noticed. Thinking he was in the way, Manuel asked his pitcher if he needed to go for a ride. "Oh, no," Hamels said. "I've already been on it. " This day could not come soon enough for the 27-year-old lefthander.

ATLANTA - The Avett Brothers performed a postgame concert at Turner Field following Sunday's series finale, and it always seems as if the Braves are booking musical guests when the Phillies are in town. Last season, The Beach Boys and REO Speedwagon played after Phillies-Braves games. Later this season, Ludacris will play a postgame concert after the Phillies-Braves game on May 14. Alas, the Phillies are not in town when the B-52s and Yacht Rock Revue play postgame concerts this season.