"The bullpens are important," Cox said. "You fight to get to the eighth and ninth nowadays. It's the name of the game now. The Phillies' bullpen has been pretty dominant, and that's even without (Tom) 'Flash' Gordon now. You better score early. As a manager, it affects the way you think about the game."

Right-hander Chad Durbin, whose success has been a pleasant surprise for the Phillies, was flattered by Cox's comments. But he said the Phillies' relievers haven't gotten overconfident.

"Instantly, the words that come to mind are, 'Don't take it for granted,'" Durbin said. "It's something you take a moment of pride in hearing because Bobby has been in the game a long time and knows the difference between a team that might have an edge on another. But it's still a work-in-progress. We've still got to continue to be good in order to win games."

Jones said the Braves were able to take advantage of the Mets' patchwork bullpen. But with right-handers Durbin, Ryan Madson, Rudy Seanez and Clay Condrey and lefties J.C. Romero and Scott Eyre, the Phillies are able to match up in the late innings before turning to unblemished closer Brad Lidge.

"The Phillies' bullpen, with the lefties who can turn guys around and neutralize lefties, and Lidge being so dominant at the end, it's tough," Jones said. "With the Mets' bullpen, it seems like nobody knows their role down there."

BRAVES 10, PHILLIES 4: Ryan Howard and Chase Utley hit solo home runs, but the Phillies fell in the rubber game of a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies remained 1 1/2 games ahead of the Mets in the NL East after the Mets lost to the Cubs in 10 innings. The Phillies' magic number to clinch both a playoff berth and a division title is three. Brett Myers allowed six runs (four earned) in 4 1/3 innings for his second consecutive loss. Pat Burrell went 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles. Howard belted his majors-leading 47th home run but also committed a costly error in the Braves' six-run fifth inning.