Braves Kick Off Roadtrip In Pittsburgh

Written by Jonathan on April 17, 2009 – 6:08 pm

After a three-game sweep by the Marlins, the Braves are looking to turn things back around against the Pirates as they kick off a 9-game roadtrip.  Coming into the roadtrip at 5-4 the Braves are looking to get back into form that got them off to a 5-1 start.  Over the next 9 games in Pittsburgh, Washington and Cincinnati, the Braves will be fighting through a few injury issues with both pitching and starting offense, but we have fought through worse in the past.

Tonight, Jair Jurrjens looks to overcome some of the control issues that have haunted him up until this point in the season (while still retaining a solid 2.45 ERA) and bring down Paul Maholm for the Pirates.  The left-handed Maholm comes into tonight’s game with a 1-0 record and a 1.32 ERA.  The Braves have struggled at the plate against lefties throughout last season and into the first games of this one.

We’ll be updating throughout the game as the Braves try to get back into the win column.

Braves: 0     Pirates: 3

As a result of our server outage during the game, we were unable to finish covering the progress.

Top 6th: McCann reaches after being hit by a pitch for the second time tonight but the Braves can’t capitalize.
Bot 5th: A couple more strikeouts for Jurrjens. That’s 5 on the night. The Pirates strand a runner on third.
Top 5th: I was still ordering food. But we didn’t score either.
Bot 4th: McLouth singles to right field to leadoff. I got distracted looking for food, but they didn’t score.
Top 4th: Francoeur singles but gets doubled up by a sharp liner from Prado. Nothing on the board for the Braves still.
Bot 3rd: 1-2-3 inning for Jurrjens with 2 Ks. We need to see more of those.
Top 3rd: Jurrjens walks to lead off the inning. Sac bunt by Kelly Johnson moves the runner. Two flyouts and the Braves are unable to capitalize on the leadoff runner.
Bot 2nd: Moss triples off the wall. Once again, Schafer misplays the ball. Andy LaRoche plates Moss with a ball to short. 1-0 Pirates.
Top 2nd: McCann gets hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Francoeur singles up the middle. Prado singles past short to load the bases with no outs. Kotchman pops out to the catcher and Schafer grounds into a double play. How can we expect to win if we blow chances like that?
Bot 1st: Sanchez triples off the center field wall with one out, not handled well by Schafer. Jurrjens gets McLouth to strike out and Doumit to pop out to get out of the inning with no damage done.
Top 1st: Braves down 1-2-3. We’re going to need to find that early offense that started the season off so strong again.

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