Braves Report

First to worst to first. If the season ended today, the Braves would finish their no-post-season drought. But obviously, it won’t, but this does give some real hope toward making a run for Bobby’s last season. This team had an incredible May, let’s see them keep it up. But first, let’s look at how they got there.

Tommy Hanson got the nod today and he gets my nod for the day. He pitched pretty damn well: 6 and 2/3rds innings, 3 hits, a run, 3 walks, and a pair of strikeouts. Moylan relieved him, but had some trouble, as he gave up 3 hits and 2 runs and had to be relieved by Jonny Venters before recording an out. Venters pitched another inning without incident. Jesse Chavez came in the 9th and gave up a walk before ending the game. Overall, good.

The story of the day really has be more about the offense, who have averaged 6 runs/game in May. They started early and didn’t look back, with Chipper awkwardly knocking a shot over the right field fence in the 1st.

Hey, it works.

Troy Glaus hit a 3-run shot in the 7th, his 8th of the season. Other than that, Eric Hinske drove in 2 runs on a single and a fielder’s choice. Yunel Escobar also drove in a pair of runs on a single. In total, 9 runs on 11 hits. It was a good day. Now, stay in first.

Braves win, 9 – 3.

Next game, 7:10 PM EST vs. the Phillies on Peachtree TV and ESPN.

Tim Hudson (5 – 1, 2.24) vs. Cole Hamels (5 – 3, 3.82).

A lot has happened in a month. The Braves moved from first place to last, and now they’re trying to make a run at first again. They’re 0.5 games behind the Phillies, who have been shutout in 5 of their past 8 games, who face the Braves on Memorial Day. On Sunday, the Braves were trying to complete a sweep of the Pirates. Let’s see how it went.

Kris Medlen, who has replaced Jair Jurrjens while he’s been on the DL, pitched this game and was pretty solid. He went 6 and 2/3rds innings, gave up 4 hits, 2 runs, a pair of walks, and struck out 2. Not perfect, but enough to keep the Braves in the game. O’Flaherty relieved him and struck out the only batter he faced. Saito followed and struck out 2, earning his first win of the season. Wagner came on in the 9th, struck out 1, and got his 7th save of the year.

The offense was lacking in the beginning of the game, but when the time came, they stepped up. Troy Glaus started off the game with a sacrifice fly in the first. In his next at-bat, he hit his 7th homer of the year. After that, the bats remained silent until the 8th inning. With 2 outs and runners on first and second, pinch-hitting Chipper Jones hit a bloop towards left field.

It dropped.

This gave the Braves a 3-2 lead. Then Jason Heyward came up to the plate and drove in McCann and Chipper with a triple, his 37th and 38th RBI of the year. Who expected this from him at the beginning of the year? All I can say is I’m very happy with the way this team has been playing.

Braves break out the brooms, 5 – 2.

Next game, 1:05 PM EST vs. the Phillies on Sports South.

Tommy Hanson (4 – 3, 4.06) vs. Joe Blanton (1 – 3, 5.63).

This losing streak has got to end some time. 8 games in a row is just too much. I’m sure the Braves are wondering what the hell is happening just as much as we are, but rest assured, relief is coming soon (maybe). Let’s see what happened tonight.

I said I had faith in Kawakami. Well, apparently, he did not. He went 4.1 innings, gave up 5 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), walked 4, and struck out 4. Jonny Venters, a pitcher I didn’t even remember was on this team, came in and was pretty ineffective. He let all of Kawakami’s runs score. O’Flaherty and Chavez followed with an inning each, without much drama. Same story as always. One thing to note is that the Braves turned 4 double plays. I don’t know if this speaks more towards their good defense, or the fact that the Cardinals always had runners on.

The offense was its usual terrible self. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, this team can’t compete without somebody/something to spark the offense. Even though they had 7 hits, they failed to plate a single run, for their fifth shutout of the year. End this garbage already, please.

Braves go down, 6-0.

Thursday’s game, 1:40 PM EST on SportsSouth. J. Jurrjens (0 – 2, 5.48) vs. A. Wainwright (3 – 1, 1.69).

I’ll give my predictions: Braves lose 4-1. They’ll provide no run support for Jurrjens, but get a mercy homer in the 8th inning (I’m looking at you, Heyward).

Everything great has some sort of blemish. America, for example, has the black marks of the Civil War, Japanese internment camps, and Lady Gaga. Likewise, the 2010 Braves have a 7 game losing streak to worry about. Let’s see what went wrong tonight.

Lowe started this game and he was good to begin with, but ended weakly. His line was 5 and 2/3rds innings, 5 runs, 5 hits, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Moylan relieved Lowe in the 6th, and allowed one of his runs to score on a hit. Medlen and Wagner followed with an inning of their own without any drama. Wagner did drill Matt Holliday, though, so kudos to him. It was just a case of the same story as usual, where the starter failed, the bullpen was decent, but neither mattered because the offense just wasn’t enough.

The Braves managed to score 4 runs in this game, which came from a variety of players. Three came on singles from Melky Cabrera, Derek Lowe, and Chipper Jones. Martin Prado also drove in a run on a fielder’s choice/error. Other than that, the bats were relatively silent. The Braves had the bases loaded in the 7th inning with 2 outs and the Kid up at the plate, but he struck out looking. They need Heyward to start hitting again, or anybody, really, or this is going to be a long season.

Braves lose 7 in a row, 5-4.

Wednesday’s game @ 8:15 PM EST on Peachtree TV.

Kenshin Kawakami (0 – 3, 4.76) vs. Jamie Garcia (1 – 1, 1.42). I have faith in him.

6. The Braves have lost 6 games in a row as they just seem to be unable to buy a break. What’s worse is they had the lead in this one, but it just slipped away. Let’s go. It’s dark at the bottom of the league.

Hudson started this game and had a decent outing until the last two innings he pitched. He went 6+ innings, threw 94 pitches (53 strikes), allowed 3 runs on 6 hits, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. He received a no-decision for his effort. Moylan relieved him in the 7th inning and allowed Hudson’s third run to score. Saito pitched the 8th and allowed a ground-rule double that would be the game winning hit. For this, he got charged with the loss. The pitching staff has seen better nights, but oddly, the bullpen blew it this game, while the starter was solid.

Of course, another reason why the Braves lost was because they did not score enough runs. They tallied up 9 hits, and runs came in the form of a McCann sacrifice fly, a Troy Glaus single, and a Nate McLouth double. The Braves struck early, but after the 4th inning, they were done.

The offense could’ve been more productive.

Not the worst night they’ve ever had, but the pitching staff needed more run support.

Braves drop the opener, 4-3.

Next game, Tuesday @ 8:15 PM EST on Peachtree TV. Lowe (3 – 1, 5.24) vs. Carpenter (2 – 0, 3.60).

Win, dammit.