Braves Report

There’s two reasons why I’m combining the recaps for the Braves’ series against the Mets. One: I’m exhausted as I finish my final year of college. Two: the Braves were just terrible. Let’s go.

From a pitching standpoint, Kawakami, Jurrjens, and Hanson were actually pretty decent. I don’t know when Jurrjens is going to win his first game if the offense doesn’t provide him with any run support. Hanson was phenomenal, while only pitching 5 innings a rain-shortened game, he struck out 8 and gave up an unearned run. Kawakami and Jurrjens only gave up 3 runs in their respective starts. The bullpen wasn’t all that bad, either. They were worse than they have been, but still not terrible.

That word is reserved for the offense. I don’t know what happened this weekend, but they just looked out of it. This included a stupid base-running blunder by Escobar that cost the Braves a run on Saturday. They could only provide the Braves with 3 runs in the 24 innings that they batted, which was just not enough to win anything.

The three losses dropped the Braves from first place to last in the division (8-10) and gave them a record below .500, all the while being swept by the Mets.

Let’s not do that again.

Braves drop game 16, 5-2.

Braves lose game 17, 3-1.

Braves get beat in game 18, 1-0.

Thursday night marked the conclusion of the Braves’ series against the Phillies, and it also marked their second series loss of the season. Let’s go.

Lowe started this game and was less than spectacular. In 5 innings of work, he gave up 6 hits, 5 runs (4 earned), walked 2, and struck out 3. Not his best performance of the season. Medlen relieved him for a third of an inning, giving up a run. O’Flaherty followed, finishing the inning without letting any more damage occur. Moylan pitched the next inning, giving up 2 runs. Finally, Chavez pitched the last 2 innings, only giving up a hit. Not a great performance from the pitching staff.

Still, it did not really matter, because the offense only provided 3 runs on 9 hits. These runs all came in the form of outs from Diaz, Prado, and McCann. Not their best performances of the year as the Braves’ offense was held in check by Jamie Moyer.

Braves lose, 8-3.

Wow. I already had this recap written. I was going to talk about how the team’s offense failed them once again and cost them the game. Did I ever get a kick in the pants? The Braves had their best win of the season in extras in incredible fashion and second walk-off win in as many days. Let’s go.

Hanson started this game and despite his line, he had a decent outing: 4 and 2/3rd innings, 6 hits, a pair of runs, a walk, and 4 K’s. His night was shortened by his pitch count, which was 102 (66 strikes). O’Flaherty relieved him and allowed one of his runs to score. Moylan pitched the next inning and recorded a strikeout. Medlen followed in the next two innings, giving up another run. Jesse Chavez came in the 9th and was perfect. Wagner pitched the 10th and was perfect with a strikeout, earning the win. Same story for the pitching staff all season: pretty damn good.

When I had my recap written, it was the 9th inning, when they only had 4 hits, no runs, and had grounded into 2 double plays. The game seemed hopeless, and with 2 outs, I was ready to post this entry. Then something weird then happened. Troy Glaus hit a 2 run homer to bring the game within 1. Two pitches later, Jason Heyward slammed one over the left field fence. We were tied. Then, in the 10th, something flat out strange happened. Nate McLouth, a .167 hitter, hit his first homer of the season on a 2-2 pitch. The Braves rushed into the dugout to give him the silent treatment, but it didn’t matter. They were now tied for first in the NL East. I love seeing this team being in it until the end. Last year, these games were easily out of reach if the Braves were trailing in the 6th inning, but suddenly, everything seems possible. Keep it up, this is why we’re Braves fans.

Braves win in awesome style, 4-3 (F/10).

Next game, Wednesday @ 7:10 PM EST on Peachtree TV and ESPN.

Hudson (1 – 0, 2.84) vs. Halladay (3 – 0, 1.12).

There’s a way to rebound from a no-hitter and there’s a way to rebound from a no-hitter. I’m not sure what this was an example of, but it involved Jason Heyward and a walk-off win. A very good way to bounce back. Let’s go.

Jurrjens started this game and he was awesome: 8 innings, 5 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 9 strikeouts. It’s good to see him recover from that fustercluck against the Padres. Unfortunately, in typical Braves’ fashion, he was provided with virtually no run support and received a no decision for his effort. O’Flaherty came on in the 9th, struck out 1, and would earn the win. One thing I’d like to say is how impressed I am with the pitching staff. With only a few blemishes, they’ve been very solid, and the bullpen has been phenomenal. Maybe McDowell finally figured out how to go through to these pitchers.

Apparently Jason Heyward wants this to be the year of Jason Heyward, because he has done nothing but impress this season. He only had one hit, but it was a good one. In the 9th inning, trailing by 1, he knocked in the walk-off single to left field to score Martin Prado and Brooks Conrad.

Jubilation ensued.

Other than that, he was walked in for a run earlier in the game, giving him 3 RBIs on the day and 15 for the season. How phenomenal has he been? Martin Prado also knocked in a run on a sac fly. He’s been really impressive this year, too. Keep up the good work, fellas.

Braves take the series and the game, 4-3.

Next game, Tuesday @ 7:10 PM EST on Peachtree TV and MLBN (it’ll be blacked out for me) against the Phillies.

Hanson (1 – 1, 2.38) vs. Kendrick (0 – 0, 17.47).

There are some memories that stand out in the minds of Braves fans. Some of them are good, some of them are terrible. This game was one of those ‘cover-your-face’ moments, as the Braves got no-hit. Sure, it’s always exciting to see one of these games, but it kind of blows when your team is on the receiving end of it. Let’s go.

Kawakami started this game and was pretty much doomed to fail. He wasn’t spectacular: 5 innings, 8 hits, 4 runs, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts. Jonny Venters followed him and gave up a hit, a walk, and struck out 2 in his 3 innings of work. Jesse Chavez pitched the 9th perfectly while striking out 1. As usual, the bullpen shined, and the starting staff was the only blemish.

It didn’t really matter, though, because the offense only walked 6 times against Ubaldo Jimenez. To be fair, he was dealing, hitting 100 mph. Congratulations to him, but it’s just kind of lousy to have this happen twice in the past 6 years (Johnson). Oh well, get the next one.

Braves lose, 4-0.