Braves Report

It’s about time. That’s all I can really say about this win. Well, not really, but it still felt warranted. Everything was working for the Braves today, who returned to a .500 record. The starter didn’t put the game out of reach, the bullpen didn’t follow suit, and the offense rejoined the club today. This combination prevented an embarrassing sweep by the Pirates and ended a 5-game losing streak. Onto the game.

Javier Vazquez. I didn’t know what to expect of him when he became a Brave over the winter. To be honest, I still don’t know what to think of him. He did, however, pitch a very good game today: 6 innings, 5 hits, no runs, a walk, and 8 strikeouts. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the pitching staff must’ve figured out how to strike people out. Moylan followed him and pitched an inning perfectly while striking out one. Bennett came into the game in the 8th inning and did the exact same thing. Parr pitched the 9th and gave up a run on 2 hits and a walk. Overall, a very impressive and nearly flawless outing from the pitching staff.

The offense didn’t want to be shown up by the pitching staff, and they weren’t. Finally arriving at PNC Park, they came through in fine fashion. Every single position player (starter or not) had a hit. Francoeur continued his good season, with 3 RBIs coming off a single and a double, raising his average to .333. Martin Prado, who has been doing an incredible job filling in for people (never thought I’d say that), had two hits on the day, including a 3-run homer in the 4th. David Ross hit his first home run as a Brave, a solo shot, in the 7th inning. Kotchman singled in a run in the 1st inning. For the 11th run of the day, Matt Diaz had a sacrifice fly in the 8th inning. Chipper also returned to the lineup today, getting a single and scoring twice. Jordan Schafer may be coming out of his slump by having 3 hits on the day.

Have more games like this, please.

Braves win, 11 – 1.

Next game: Braves @ Nationals.

7:05 PM EST. Lowe vs. Zimmermann.