By JACK McCAFFERY
jmccaffery@delcotimes.com
PHILADELPHIA - In between the pitching-mound follies of Kyle Kendrick and Antonio Bastardo Wednesday, the Phillies had the look, the determination and the power of their familiar recent championship teams.
In between.
Trouble was, Kendrick started, Bastardo couldn't finish, and the Phillies wasted nostalgically classic offense from Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins in a 12-6 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

Rollins homered on the first pitch he saw from Tim Hudson, and later doubled. And Howard ripped a three-run fifth-inning homer into the left-field seats to create a 6-6 tie and a familiar roar in Citizens Bank Park. But that was only after Kendrick had fallen behind, 6-1. And that was before Bastardo would stumble into but not out of seventh-inning trouble, with Josh Lindblom unable to provide a rescue.
The Phillies were trying to win their third consecutive series, having recently taken two of three from both Washington and Arizona. Instead, they lost two of three, with their record against Atlanta this season falling to 3-9 - 1-5 at home.
Former Phillie Michael Bourn supplied a home run, a double and full-service center-field defense to tease the assembled 41,501, most of whom would like to see him return this offseason as a free agent.
The Phillies received crisp relief from Raul Valdes and Michael Schwimer before the ever unreliable Bastardo and Lindblom wobbled through a four-run Atlanta seventh. Neither Lindblom nor Jeremy Horst was much better in the eighth.
Though nine of Bastardo's previous 10 appearances were scoreless, he had little Wednesday as his record fell to 2-4.
Hudson lasted just 4 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and as many earned runs, walking three, striking out four and allowing two home runs, including Howard's sixth of his abbreviated season.
Rollins' 13th home run was the 40th leadoff homer of his career and was good for a 1-0 lead. In the fifth, he pulled a line drive into the right field corner to score Kevin Frandsen from first and pull the Phils within 6-2. Frandsen had led off the inning with a single.
Domonic Brown followed with a shot to right-center to deliver Rollins, then hustled to second for a double. Hudson hit Chase Utley with a pitch, and Howard's sixth homer of the season forced the 6-6 tie. John Mayberry walked and went to second on a two-out passed ball before Erik Kratz launched a blast that Bourn could corral high on the center field fence.
Manuel had seen enough of Kendrick by the time Bourn clubbed a two-run homer to deep right-center to give Atlanta a 6-1 lead. Replaced by Valdes, Kendrick was booed as he exited, having allowed seven hits and six earned runs in 3 1-3 innings, with a wild pitch and one strikeout. Of his 77 pitches, 48 were for strikes. His record remained at 4-9.
The Phillies' season was capsulized in the Braves' four-run second. Kendrick walked Freddie Freeman with one out, and Dan Uggla singled to left. Kendrick's wild pitch sent the runners to second and third. Freeman scored on a David Ross ground-out to short. Paul Janish walked and scored, with Uggla, on Hudson's double well past John Mayberry to the center field wall.
Martin Prado slapped a single to right, and Nate Schierholtz's throw, though up the third base line, was early enough that it should have caught a passive Hudson jogging home --- except that Kratz failed to hold onto the throw, with Hudson scoring for a 4-1 Atlanta lead.
Jason Heyward smashed a two-out double into the center field fence in the seventh, but after Chipper Jones was intentionally walked, Bastardo walked Freeman, loading the bases and forcing Manuel to go to right-hander Lindblom to face Uggla, whose three-run double down the third base line made it 9-6.
Uggla scored when Ross dribbled to third and Frandsen bounced a weak throw that Howard couldn't corral at first. Though charged with the error, Frandsen saved another run on his next opportunity, diving into the hole to snuff a sharp grounder and throw out Janish at first.
Tyler Pastornicky walked and scored on Bourn's eighth-inning double off Lindblom, who then walked Prado and was replaced by Horst. The Braves made it 12-6 when Freeman grounded back to Horst, who bobbled the ball and threw to first as Bourn trotted home.
Former Phillie Chad Durbin (4-1) was the winning pitcher.