The series that began against Philadelphia on Friday night is being proclaimed as one of the most important series in the remainder of the season. It is seen as a ‘must-win’, where a sweep would be entirely beneficial. The Braves started out on the right foot and were able to beat down the Phillies to win the opener.
This largely came in part due to Jair Jurrjens, probably the best healthy pitcher on the entire staff. He was dealing the entire game, always had it in control, and walked away with his 10th win of the season. He went a very impressive 8 innings, allowed only 3 hits, no runs, 1 walk, and struck out 6. Wow. Ohman came in the 9th, was less than spectacular, and gave up 2 hits, 2 runs, and struck out one. Not great, but because Jurrjens and the offense was, he didn’t have to be.
For the majority of this game, it looked like it was going to be a pitcher’s duel. The Braves had an early 1-0 due to a McCann solo shot, but in two other innings, they had the bases loaded and failed to score any runs. This was pretty much the story of the game, until the 9th inning, when it all changed. The big bat of the night was owned by McCann, who also hit a grandslam in the 9th, and had 5 RBIs on the day.
[Image: Yahoo! Sports]
Blanco continued his impressive hitting with a double and a bunt single. Teixeira had an RBI single. Kotsay singled, and Infante had a pair of his own. Francoeur had a single and a double. Kelly Johnson also doubled in a run. Norton, who pinch-hit twice in the 9th, had a double and an RBI groundout. At the end of the night, 14 hits. Not bad, not too bad at all.
Braves win the opener, 8 - 2.
Today’s game, at 3:55 PM EST, on FOX (Hampton is scheduled to pitch [!]).