Braves Lose 20th Straight One-Run Road Game

The Braves entered the bottom of the ninth leading on the road by one run for the first time in a long time, yet could only achieve what they had in their last 19 one-run road games: a loss. Rafael Soriano, in his first save situation since April 6^th. Soriano allowed the tying run to score when Ryan Freel scored on a groundout by catcher David Ross. Manny Acosta (3-2), pitching for the third straight game, allowed rookie phenom Jay Bruce to hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11^th.

Francisco Cordero (2-0) allowed a single to Josh Anderson to start the inning and allowed him to take second after both Yunel Escobar and Kelly Johnson struck out. Chipper Jones was then intentionally walked. As always, though, the Braves failed to score with an opportunity. This time Mark Teixeira, who hit a game-tying three run home run in the top of the third, lined out to center.

The Braves, who seem unable to get anything going offensively unless the other team does it first, lost their 20^th straight one-run road game with the only positive being the fact that they got later into the game with a small lead at all and Smoltz one game closer to coming back.

Ken Griffey started the scoring off for the Reds in the bottom of the first. Griffey, after Bruce singled with one out, launched the 599^th home run of his career off Jair Jurrjens, the Braves starter. Griffey’s home run was just the third allowed by Jurrjens all year, he then proceeded to allow his fourth as Brandon Phillips hit one to follow Griffey.

After loading the bases on three walks with a strike out sandwiched in between, Jurrjens got pitcher Josh Fogg to ground out to end the inning.

Fogg, starting for the first time since April 16^th, allowed six runs in three and one third innings for the Reds, despite the fact that he had a lead to work with in three of the innings he pitched in. Leading 3-0, Greg Norton hit his first home run for the Braves—a two run shot that followed a Jeff Francoeur single.

With the score 3-2, Jurrjens allowed two more runs on a Griffey sacrifice fly and an Edwin Encarnacion single. Fogg, with a three run lead again, proceeded to allow Mark Teixeira’s three run home run. Johnson doubled to lead off and Jones walked ahead of Teixeira’s hit.

Both pitchers would allow one more run before leaving the game. Neither team would score again until Francoeur hit a home run to lead off the seventh off reliever David Weathers.

Game Notes: Bobby Cox was ejected for the third time this season when arguing a play at the plate that involved Freel scoring the tying run.

Link: http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=140#s=140&f=2939&t=2531242 – Link that explains the Braves road woes.

I Don’t Have The Will To Title This Game Thread

If it hasn’t been terribly apparent lately, I’ve been finding it increasingly difficult to write game threads.  Wondering why?  Well mainly because every Braves road game is the same.  Play great all day long.  Great starting pitching outings, solid defense for most of the game, but no run support.  Then, late in the game (8th, 9th and 11th innings in 3 of the last 4 games), we give up silly runs and lose by 1.  That’s how the season on the road is going.  At home, the Braves are unstoppable.  On the road, I’m pretty sure an infant girls softball team could beat us.  The Braves are sporting an amazing 7-19 record on the road so far this season and how we still have a record over .500 is beyond me.  I’ll always be a diehard Braves supporter until the end, don’t get me wrong, but something has to give here soon.

This afternoon, Jair Jurrjens takes the hill for the Braves trying to turn things around and get them going in the right direction.  There’s still a chance to take this series from the Reds so let’s get it going.  Hopefully Chipper Jones can shake off the rough night he had last night and get the hot bat going again.  Go Braves!

Like Déjà Vu All Over Again

Great American Ballpark was supposed to be a haven for the Braves bats this weekend as they played the Reds. Not so, as Edinson Volquez silenced the Braves’ bats and Jay Bruce scored the winning run in the bottom of the 11^th for a 3-2 win, and the Braves’ third one run loss in four games.

Both Tom Glavine and Volquez did not allow a single run until the top of the fifth. Kelly Johnson doubled and moved to third when Chipper Jones grounded out to second. Mark Teixeira drove Johnson in with a sacrifice fly to center.

In fact, Glavine and Volquez had almost identical lines. Glavine – 6 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 5 Ks. Volquez, 6+ IP, 5 hits, 2 runs, 3 walks, 7 Ks. Former Brave Kent Mercker(1-0) got the win in relief while Royce Ring(1-1) took the loss.

The Reds answered back with two in the bottom of the frame. Joey Hairston and Jay Bruce hit back-to-back doubles to score the first. Bruce moved to third on Ken Griffey’s groundout to short and then came in to score on Brandon Phillips’ sacrifice fly.

In the top of the seventh, Braves had runners on first and third with no one out after Greg Norton chased Volquez from the game with a double and Omar Infante singled. Ruben Gotay drove Norton in from third on a groundout, but also grounded into a double play—one of three on the day for the Braves.

Going into the top of the 11^th, the game was still tied. Johnson singled ahead of Chipper. While you like the Braves chances in this situation, Chipper was 0 for 4 at this point and his next at bat was his second GIDP of the day, dropping him to 0 for 5 and his average to a paltry .411.

In the bottom of the frame, off Ring, Bruce had his fourth hit of the day. Griffey followed with a hot shot to the third base side that Chipper was unable to come up with. Phillips followed with another hot shot to third that Chipper again could not come up with.

The Braves send Jurrjens to the mound Saturday to take on Cincinnati’s Josh Fogg.

Injury Update: Mark Kotsay was placed on the 15-day DL and will have his back checked out. Josh Anderson was called up from triple A to take his place on the active roster. John Smoltz will make another rehab appearance, this time in relief, to test his shoulder again. Smoltz is expecting to join the Braves on Monday at home against the Marlins.

Two In A Row On The Road?

The Braves are in Cincinnati for the start of a three-game series against the Reds to end the road trip.  After the offense came alive last night to prevent the sweep in Milwaukee, the Braves are looking to try to improve the dastardly road record.  Here’s hoping that Glavine can get out of the 5th inning tonight.  Edinson Volquez, or should I say Krusty, is taking the mound for the Reds tonight to try to continue his impressive 7-2 season with a win.

Now’s the time where the Braves need to turn the corner and start stringing together some wins on the road if we want to compete this season.  We swept the Reds at home earlier in the month, including a defeat of Volquez, so I know the team can do it.  Let’s get it going early and often.  Go Braves!

Kotsay To DL, Anderson Called Up

Braves’ center fielder Mark Kotsay was placed on the 15-day DL today after tightness in his lower back prohibited him from even taking batting practice Thursday before the game against the Brewers.  Speedster Josh Anderson was recalled from AAA Richmond and will be in Cincinnati on Friday night for the start of a three-game series against the Reds.

Kotsay, who missed his last four starts, had back surgery in March of last year.  He came to the Braves in a trade for prospect Joey Devine.  Kotsay is not the first Braves outfielder to go on the DL – Matt Diaz is expected to miss about six weeks with a partially torn PCL that will not require surgery.  While Diaz and Kotsay are on the DL, Josh Anderson is expected to share time in center field and left field with Gregor Blanco.

Anderson was acquired from the Astros in a trade last year in November for reliever Oscar Villareal.  He impressed in spring training and was beat out for the fourth outfield spot by Blanco.

Summer Hot Stove Heating Up – Trade Rumors

The Braves are playing amazing baseball at home, but not performing so great on the road. They’re also 2-14 in one-run games, a number that should improve once Smoltz, Soriano, and Gonzalez are all active in the bullpen (I shamelessly stole that line from Jayson Stark). But with the Braves moving John Smoltz from the rotation to the ‘pen, they’re short a starting pitcher. And even though Jo-Jo Reyes and Jorge Campillo are standing in admirably (Campillo more so than Reyes), the Braves are reportedly looking for a starting pitcher.

There are a couple rumors here – one mentioned by the announcers during today’s game involved the highest profile free agent on the team. Reportedly the Braves would send Mark Teixeira to the Cleveland Indians for starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia. Sabathia would provide the depth to the rotation the Braves need (he’s won an average of 15.3 games each of the last three seasons), but the Braves would lose Teixeira and much of the needed protection behind Chipper, who is powering the offense. Sabathia is only 28 and would possibly be harder to resign at season’s end than Teixeira will be – and we can’t count that out. Plus, who would play first? Other rumors include either a top pitching prospect or Jordan Schafer for Sabathia – neither of which make sense for a pitcher with under a year left on his contract.  Don’t forget that if we trade Tex, we have nearly no chance of re-signing him.

The most popular rumor has Greg Maddux coming to Atlanta – something that I don’t think will happen. Frank Wren was very adamant pre-season that he wasn’t looking for a reunion tour of the big three. Now Maddux would be a very popular choice, but he’s older and may not be available for re-signing at the end of the year (no telling when he hangs up the cleats).

Jayson Stark offered his opinion on this earlier today:

“Clubs that have spoken with the Braves say they’re more focused on trying to find a younger starting pitcher they can hang onto for [more than] just the last few months of this season. So think more along the lines of the non-free agents who could pop onto the market…”

Stark goes on to mention Joe Blanton, Rich Harden, Bronson Arroyo, and Jeremy Bonderman – but stresses the Braves could be after any pitcher in this category.

I think that the Maddux thing is a bit of a pipe dream as opposed to reality. He’d offer us a good fifth arm in the rotation if Reyes isn’t working out, but I think we’d have to give up too much to get him. I’d much rather see us trade a younger prospect for a pitcher with plenty left in the tank and a few years on his contract. It’s time we start stacking our rotation for tomorrow.

Who would you like to see come to the Braves? Chime in with your opinion and comment below.

Other tidbits: East Coast Bias had a great article today on the Braves one-third of the way through the season. Take a look – very good read.

Braves Win On The Road?

Jorge Campillo’s ERA rose after today’s outing as our fifth starter, while the Braves secured a rare 8-1 road win. Campillo, who’s ERA was 0.86 before the game, allowed a home run to Russell Branyan to increase his ERA to 0.99, just disgusting.  That’s the first run that Campillo has given up since assuming a starting role.

In all seriousness though, the Braves were hopefully able to put two one-run road losses behind them on their way to Cincinnati to take on the Reds. Campillo (2-0) pitched five innings and allowed one run on the homer for his second win, another converted reliever, Seth McClung (2-2), took the loss after allowing six runs in four and two-thirds innings.

Campillo struck out six in his five innings and walked none. Campillo also got his first major league hit and RBIs on a flair to right fielder Corey Hart.

Mark Teixeira homered in the win, his first in the last 19 games, as he continues to show signs of life with his second four-RBI game this week. Teixeira’s .290 batting average is 30 points higher than his .262 average in April and only figures to get higher going into the summer.

The Braves did not start the game out soundly. Yunel Escobar singled on the first pitch of the game. After Kelly Johnson popped up on the second pitch, Chipper Jones singled and Teixeira walked. Greg Norton, getting the start in left field while Kotsay is nursing his sore back (Blanco made the start in center), grounded into a double play—a signature of the Braves season.

In the third, Escobar singled and moved to third on a Chipper single. Teixeira hit the ball to the right side that would have scored Escobar anyway, but Teixeira was safe at first and Chipper moved up thanks to Rickie Weeks’ throwing error.

In the fifth, Kelly Johnson singled and stole second on a mental error by the Brewers—they didn’t hold the runner with Chipper at the plate. With first base open, Chipper was intentionally walked before Tex unloaded to right field for a 4-0 lead. Campillo later singled with the bases loaded for a 6-0 lead.

In the eighth, the Braves loaded the bases with two outs, but Manny Acosta grounded out to first. Atlanta replicated that in the ninth, but this time Kelly Johnson’s single scored two to put the Braves up 8-1.

Some strange occurrences happened in this game. After Brian McCann’s strike without being in the box last night, the umpire was involved in a very rare call today as well. With Ryan Braun attempting to steal third, Corky Miller’s throw to third sailed into left field and allowed Braun to score. But before that happened, Hart was called out on batter’s interference because he stepped out of the batter’s box during the throw attempt. The hitter is required to stand in the batter’s box to avoid this call. This cost the Brewers a run that would have tied the game.

Chipper watch: Chipper went 2-4 today to raise his average to .420, the fourth highest batting average through May 28^th this late in the season.

Injury update: Matt Diaz’s PCL is partially torn, but he will not require surgery. He will, however, be out six weeks for treatment. Soriano threw the ninth inning today with his fastball reaching 94 miles an hour, he allowed a base runner on a walk but did not allow a hit. Smoltz will pitch for Rome tonight and Gonzalez was cleared to go on a 10-day minor league rehab assignment.

The Roof Is Open; We Can Win

The Brewers have opened the roof of their stadium for the first time this season.  Maybe that’s the change that the Braves need to get some runs on the board and to chalk up the first win of this road series.  The Braves are now .250 on the road with a 6-18 record.  If we keep that up, we can kiss any chance of the playoffs goodbye.  Jorge Campillo taking the mound for the Braves; I hope his blisters are better.  Let’s Go Braves!

Mailbag: Jason Heyward

Cameron recently wrote our mailbag with a question about one of our top prospects.

I’ve heard a lot about Jason Heyward, and with comparisons like Ryan Howard on one site, I was wondering how long before he could see time in the Bigs, and what position he would play, in your opinion at least, Ive heard 1st and LF, but I thought I should ask someone with at least some inside knowledge.

Jason Heyward is one of the Braves’ brightest prospects, ranked just behind Jordan Schafer by Baseball America as the Braves’ #2 prospect this year. Jason was the Braves’ top draft pick in 2007 (14th overall) and is playing the 2008 year at Class A Rome – just a little more than an hour north of the city, if you want to go see him play. In his early days with the team, he’s already making an impact and stands out. The man is 6′4″, 220 lbs, but he has extraordinary athleticism for a man his size.

I haven’t heard any comparisons to Ryan Howard (though they do seem to come from the same mold), but Braves’ GM Frank Wren compares him to a young Cliff Floyd – and hopes that Heyward can stay away from the injuries that torpedoed his career. “They look very similar. They’re great athletes who are strong and imposing. They’re very different than most guys.”

Heyward will probably be to the bigs in the next two to three years. He’s in Baseball America’s projected 2011 lineup for the Braves, playing next to Schafer and Francoeur, but if the Braves are unable to resign Mark Teixeira, there is speculation that Heyward may make the transfer to first base.

Heyward is ranked as the best power hitter in the Braves’ farm system, as well as the player with the most strike-zone discipline. He bats left and is working on being even more disciplined at the plate. Heyward will be a pleasure fo Braves fans when he makes it to the bigs. In 203 at-bats so far this year in Rome, he’s batting .340 with 7 home runs and 15 doubles. He’s only walked 14 times and struck out 35 times, so he needs to be a little more patient.

Overall, Heyward will be a very special player and I’m excited to see him develop in the coming years. He’s going to be an important key to the Braves of the future, whether he’s playing outfield or first base.

Braves On The Road? … No Comment

A strange at-bat by Brian McCann in the eighth and a Rickie Weeks (.205) triple that scored a run highlighted the latest Braves’ one-run loss on the road trip; a 1-0 game in the favor of the Brewers.

Jeff Suppan (3-4) pitched eight sparkling innings and out-dueled an arguably sharper Jo-Jo Reyes (2-3). Blaine Boyer came in relief for Reyes can’t seem to keep guys off base lately and allowed Weeks’ second triple of the season. Solomon Torres, the lone remaining closer for the Brewers picks up his fourth save with a perfect ninth inning.

In the eighth inning, Reyes walked the leadoff hitter and was replaced by Boyer after the best outing of his season. Boyer got the first two outs of the inning, but the offensively challenged Weeks was able to sneak one inside the line for a triple that scored J. J. Hardy.

Suppan pitched his best game of the year, allowing just four hits—all singles—to the Braves. The Braves didn’t help themselves either by going 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position.

In the first inning, Chipper Jones and Mark Teixeira walked, but McCann grounded out to end the threat with a runner in scoring position. In fact, McCann struck out three times and left five men on base after coming off a 13 game hitting streak that ended yesterday.

In the second inning, Gregor Blanco singled and moved to second when Omar Infante reached on an error. Reyes came up with one out and bunted to the third base side. Jason Kendall, the Brewers catcher, streaked in and threw to third for an out and onto first for a bunt double-play.

The third inning saw another Braves threat go up in smoke when Chipper and Teixeira singled back-to-back that put Chipper on third. McCann’s strike out to end the inning also ended the Braves scoring threat. The Braves had runners on first and second with two out in the second, but Teixeira flied out to end that threat.

Umpire Mark Wegner, who called a fairly even game all night, angered Teixeira with a called third strike in the eighth and inning and also irked McCann with a call. McCann stepped out and would not return to the batter’s box when instructed and was pitched to anyway. Suppan’s throw was in the general vicinity of the plate and called a strike, a crucial second strike that allowed Suppan to strike out McCann two pitches later.

Game Notes: With the loss, the Braves fall to 0-11 on the road in one run games and 2-14 overall in one run games. Kelly Johnson’s 13-game hitting streak ended one game after McCann’s last night.

Injury Notes: Kotsay avoided the DL today and did some light running and throwing before the game. Soriano was activated from the DL when Diaz was disabled after crashing into the wall yesterday. Diaz strained his PCL and may require surgery on the ligament that will keep him out for four to six weeks. Smoltz, who has been feeling under the weather with flu-like symptoms, will make a scheduled rehab start this Thursday to test his new three-quarters arm delivery and could rejoin the team as early as this weekend or early next week.

Getting Past The Heartbreaker

I’m still not 100% cured from the loss last night.  And I don’t know if Jo-Jo Reyes is the solution to this problem, but either way, he’s taking the mound for us tonight against the Brewers.  The Braves need to do whatever it takes to get a win right now on the road.  The bats need to come alive and the pitching needs to hold.  I’m hoping for the best, but I don’t know if I can handle another game like last night.  Go Braves!

Quarter Season Review – National League

Now, onto the much delayed analysis of the NL and their surprises:

NL West: Looking at the standings, there’s one thing that really surprised me. The two teams that played a 163^rd game last season are one and two wins ahead of the worst record in the majors (owned by the Mariners). Those teams are San Diego and Colorado respectively. San Diego has scored the fewest runs in the majors, understandable when they have absolutely no consistency in their lineup (other than Adrian Gonzalez who would be the fifth or sixth best hitter on the Braves by comparison), they have no power (12^th in the NL in home runs, which is understandable considering they play in Petco, but surprising because they have less homers on the road than at home). Moving on up, Colorado is just struggling because of growing pains from their young pitchers. Other than Aaron Cook (7-3, 2.82) none of their other starters has a sub-4.00 ERA. The third place team in the division, San Francisco, is a team that some thought could be the worst offensive team in the history of the majors before the season started. They’ve done alright considering they’re just now coming off the Barry Bonds era and pretty much rebuilding from the ground up. As far as their offense, the only team in the majors that has scored less runs than the Giants are the Padres in the NL and the Royals in the AL. Arizona is a team that everyone expected to do well at the beginning of the season and they have. They are probably the best team in the NL and deservedly so, their young offense is getting better and their pitching staff has gotten better with the addition of Dan Haren from Oakland. The Dodgers are the enigma of the group, they are very streaky, but are also the victim of bad front office movies. Joe Torre being the new manager, in my opinion, wasn’t very different from Grady Little. I think the name and ticket sales they would bring in with a big name manager were the clincher for Torre in this case.

NL Central: Boy, this division really turned upside down after the Cubs. Last season, the Cardinals finished seven games out of first place in the Central and even worse in the wildcard race. The Astros finished 14 games behind the leader in the same division. This season both teams have gone through somewhat of a rebirth to the early part of the decade when they regularly battled for the central crown. This season both teams are battling with the Cubs for the lead in the division. St. Louis is one game out and Houston is two games behind the Cubs. All three teams have the offense, pitching or both to carry them to the divisional crown and I fully expect this race to go down to the end of the season.

NL East: I think we can call this a four team race down to the wire. We just outlined the Marlins a couple of days ago and we all know about the Braves. The Phillies will be in contention as long as they play at Citizens Bank Park and the Mets….well, yeah they’ll stick around, I guess. Honestly, I really don’t see them winning consistently outside of Santana’s starts. The Mets are 7-3 when Santana starts and 17-23 when everyone else does, kind of tells you something about their pitching staff. For the division though, I’m sticking with my preseason pick of the Braves. Here’s why: They are a third of the season without some of their major players (Smoltz, Soriano, Gonzalez, Moylan among others) and are only 2.5 games out of the lead. Soriano and Smoltz are expected back soon, meaning Cox won’t have to worry as much about going to the bullpen (which is still the third best in the NL) as much as he would have earlier in the season. The Braves bullpen has a 3.51 ERA, sixth in the league and a .229 batting average against, third in the league.

Predictions:

NL West: Arizona
NL Central: Chicago
NL East: Atlanta

Wildcard: Philadelphia