Braves Report

I mentioned yesterday that I thought that today’s game was going to be a pitching duel. Well, apparently I was only half right, as Lowe came to pitch, but the Braves absolutely teed off of Arroyo. The end result was the start of a winning streak and a record above .500. Hopefully they can keep this momentum going. Onto the game.

As I already stated, Lowe essentially dominated this game. He had a very impressive line: 7 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 8 strikeouts. Had he not allowed a 2-run homer to Alex Gonzalez in the 2nd inning, he would have been nearly impeccable.

[Image: Yahoo Sports!]

(Pictured above: the face of a killer)

O’Flaherty would come into the game in the 8th inning and record two strikeouts. Bennett pitched the 9th inning, giving up two hits, but nothing ever came of it. Overall, a very good day for the pitching staff.

The offense tried to move the spotlight off of Lowe with a hitting performance that recently has been sorely missed. They jumped out to an early lead, scoring 6 runs in the first two innings, and never looked back. Leading this offensive charge were Escobar and Chipper, who each drove in 4 runs. Escobar had three hits on the day, including a single, a double, and a 2-run homer. Chipper had an RBI single and a 3-run shot in the 2nd inning.

[Image: Yahoo Sports!]

This was an improvement over yesterday’s 0-for-5 appearance, and allowed him to raise his batting average to .298. Other notables on the day were David Ross, McCann’s replacement while he goes to the DL for his vision problems, who had two hits and doubled in a run. He’s now batting .375. Casey Kotchman, a player I usually like to rag on, gave me no material today, as he also had two hits. Finally, Greg Norton had a pinch-hit double where he plated a run. Good game.

Braves win big, 10 – 2.

Series finale: Sunday @ Reds.

1:10 PM EST. Kawakami vs. Oswings. Watch as the Braves go for the sweep.