Braves Report

Just when things couldn’t get worse…

The Braves opened their series against the Cardinals on Monday night, and frankly, I don’t know what their intentions were. After blowing the two games on Saturday and Sunday, and the announcement of Chipper and Hudson being sent to the DL, they were unable to rebound and dropped another game in grand fashion to put them 7.5 back from first.

Morton had to be called up to from AAA as a result of Hudson’s injury, but he wasn’t exactly what the Braves needed.

[Image: Yahoo! Sports]

Quite simply, he had a terrible night, only lasting 3 and 2/3 innings, while giving up 7 hits, 8 earned runs, walking 4, and striking out 1. Bennett relieved him, 2 and 1/3 innings, 1 run, 2 hits, and striking down 2. Not horrible. In the 7th inning came Carlyle, my favorite non-closer-esque bullpen pitcher, who was perfect in his inning of work and recorded two strikeouts. Ring pitched the 8th, gave up 3 runs, 4 hits (bleh). Tavarez pitched the last inning and had the same line as Buddy. Not a great night for the pitching staff, who let up 13 hits and 12 runs in total (Note: I’m sick of this almost 1:1 hit:run ratio that opposing teams have against the Braves).

Offensively, the story wasn’t much better. Tex had the first RBI of the game in the 4th inning, and he recorded two doubles on the night. Escobar (WGC) had an RBI double and a single. Kotsay singled in a run in the 6th, but that was the end of run-production. Other notables are Infante had a pair of singles. Francoeur, Gotay, and Clint Sammons all had singles of their own. 10 hits, but not enough.

Braves drop the ball and the opener, 12 – 3.

Tonight’s game, at 7:00 PM EST, not nationally televised.

[Image: Yahoo! Sports]

I think it’s pretty clear now, sure we had been hanging around in the playoff hunt, but after this series, it’s official, we are now sellers. Two games in a row the bats come through big. Two games in a row the pen lets us down, big. When you score nine runs one day, and ten the next…. You really should win those games.

Braves had twelve hits and and seven walks, a good day behind the plate. Throw in the ten runs, it should have been a recipe for success. Tex is (finally) getting hot, two more hits today with a run scored. Kotsay notched three hits with a double and two runs scored. Infante had two hits, one for a home run, two RBI and two runs scored. KJ also had a home run of his own.

This game might have turned out differently if not for the rain delay. Campy was pitching well, but when there is a long delay half way through the second, it hurts. He had to come out and handed the ball to Jo-Jo. Jo-Jo was unimpressive, 2.2 innings, five runs on four hits and four walks. Taverez went .2 innings, gave up a home run. Ring managed to get a (seriously, just one) batter out, but gave up four runs on four hits. Boyer gave up a home run in .2 innings. Carlyle also couldn’t keep the ball in the yard, giving up a home run. The only bright spot on the day was Ohman who pitched an inning without giving up a run.

Brave lose this game 10 – 12, and lose the series. I can’t wait to see what moves get made.

Tomorrow’s game, 7:10 PM. Not nationally televised.

[Image: Yahoo! Sports]

Be honest, did you ever think the day would come where Hampton would be on a major league mound for the Braves? It’s a shame he couldn’t do better. Beyond that, did you think you’d see a game where we score nine (9) runs in a inning, and lose?

Hampton’s return to the rubber what not really what we could have hoped for, but exactly what we should have expected. He only gave us four innings, but pitched into the fifth. He gave up eight hits, six runs, and two walks. Ring pitched to one batter, failed to get him out, and allowed two runs to score. Boyer was awful. He managed an inning, giving up three hits, three runs, all earned. After that, the pen settled down. Ohman, Soriano and Tavarez each threw a scoreless inning. In fact, the only blemish on any of their lines was a walk given up by Tavarez.

The bats had one great inning. Unfortunately, that inning wasn’t enough to get the Braves the win. One would think when you score nine runs, that would be enough. It wasn’t that everyone hit a lot, it was just that everyone decided to hit at the same time. Tex had two hits, three RBI and a home run. Infante drove in two as well.

Braves lose 9 – 10 in Hampton’s return.

Rubber Game with the Phils today at 1:35. Not nationally televised.

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 [!]).

(Image: Yahoo! Sports)

It’s nice to see the Braves take a series, but when you lose both Chipper and Huddy during the game, it is hard to get excited about it. Chipper went down due to a hamstring injury in the fourth, not believed to be too serious. Huddy was pulled due to elbow tightness. I just don’t like to hear the word “tightness” with a pitcher. It just never seems to end well. If Huddy goes down for a time, that leaves only Jurrjens who started as a starter at the beginning of the season.

Despite Huddy’s short outing, overall the Braves pitchers did pretty well. Before he was pulled, Huddy pitched six innings of three-hit shutout ball. So, at least he qualified for the win. Boyer then went an innings, didn’t allow a run, hit or walk. Ohman was almost as good, he allowed only a walk, but struck out two. Carlyle was the lone black spot. He allowed four runs on three hits and a walk, only managing .1 inning. Gonzo had to come in to finish the game, which he did.

The bats woke up a good bit today, pounding out twelve hits and scoring nine times. Blanco was amazing. He went four for five, with a triple, three runs scored, and three RBI. Escobar had two hits, one for a double, with three RBI. The rest of the hits were spread out by just about everyone.

Braves win, 9 – 4.

No game today, tomorrow’s game 7:05 PM, not nationally televised.