Braves Report

Sorry for the lateness of this recap, things have been mad around here. But, the Braves tried to put a crimp on the Phillies’ playoff hopes, much like they did the Mets. Time will tell if they were successful.

Hampton was on his game and got it done. I really hope his performance this season was good enough to get him a job, somewhere, next year. He went six innings, giving up only two hits and two runs. The pen, for a change, did a great job. Ohman, Bennett and Gonzo each pitched a scoreless, hit-less inning.

The bats did just enough to get the win. KJ and Kotchman each had two hits and each drove in a run, the third run scored on an error.

Braves win 3 – 2.

The season is rapidly wrapping up, which should lead to a bit more free time for me. Less games to watch, but I have gotten out of the habit and I get a respite from writing the recaps. I was rather hoping the Braves would put something together in the closing days, but I am beginning to lose that optimism.

Jurrjens gave us a good outing last night, quite good. He went seven strong innings of five hit ball allowing only two runs to cross the plate. Unfortunately the pen wasn’t quite so good. Bennett was only able to get a single out and had three runs charged to him. Of course, none of the runs were earned, a couple didn’t even cross when he was in the Game. Ohman got an out while Tavarez gave up a home run.

Not much going on behind the plate. KJ and Lillbridge each had two hits. KJ drove in two runs.

Brave lose 2 – 6.

It seems the only team we can beat on a regular basis is the Mets. That is good when we play the Mets, not so got when we play any other team. Well, taking two of three from them this close to the end of the season is nice.

It would be easy to criticize Parr for a poor outing, but there was a pretty fair amount of evidence he wasn’t 100%. I’m not sure what was wrong, but the announcers commented he didn’t “seem right” before the game, and when Bobby came out to talk to him, Jeff Porter came with him, which means the reason for the trip was medical. He only went 1.2 innings, giving up 4 runs. When your starter only goes 1.2 innings, the pen will have a lot of work to do. Carlyle got out of the inning. Nunez and Morton each went two scoreless innings. Acosta and Julio each went one. Gonzo got the save, but gave up two runs.

Eleven hits today, but the bulk of them can be claimed by two Braves. Prado had three hits and three RBI. Frenchy also had three hits and two runs scored.

Braves win, 7 – 6

It feels good to play the role of spoiler. OK, it doesn’t, but it’s all we’ve got, so we might as well relish it. We have pretty much owned the Mets at Turner Field this year, and tonight, it appears, we were able to take them out of first place.

Campy did his job and did it well tonight. He gave us six innings, only allowing two runs to cross. The pen was pretty darn impressive tonight as well. Ohman, Bennett, and Gonzo combined to go three scoreless innings. All in all, a good night for the Braves pitching staff.

Bats weren’t tearing the cover off the ball, excluding the first inning. Thankfully, the Braves got to Pedro early. Anderson, in the lead off spot, had three hits (four counting a blown call by the ump). The next six players in the line up each had one hit, impressive.

Braves win 4 – 2.

After working so hard, getting swept by the Phils, keeping the Mets out of first place. Now we had a chance to keep the Mets out of first, by WINNING, and we couldn’t do it.

I watched the game for a bit yesterday, the part where Jo-Jo started to melt down. Apparently, Bobby made a comment something along the lines of, “If these young pitchers expected to be invited to spring training next year, they need to start pitching like they deserve it.” I cannot think of a time, EVER, where Bobby has publicly been critical of his players, much less say they don’t deserve to be on the team. I’m not sure what that means for next year.

Jo-Jo, I’m sure, was one of the pitchers Bobby was referring to. He was horrible last night. Only 3.1 innings, seven hits, five run, two walks. Once he starts to lose it during a game, it just gets worse and worse. Buddy came in to calm things down, allowed one of Jo-Jo’s runs to cross, but other than that, was great. 1.2 innings of scoreless ball. Julio went two scoreless innings. Tavarez blew the game wide open allowing four runs. Nunez and Acosta (he’s still on the team?) neither allowed a run to cross.

We scored five run, which is good. But they were scattered. Prado, in the lead off spot, had two hits. Infante did as well, driving in two runs.

Braves lose 5 – 9.