Braves Victorious in First of Interleague Play

After falling behind in the 2nd inning, making it even in the 6th, and going ahead by one run in the eighth, the Braves provided a wild and weird victory over their American League visitors, the Oakland A’s.

And let’s just pause to say that we at BravesBlast.com do not necessarily have an opinion one way or the other on interleague play. It can be a welcome addition to a 162 game schedule. Especially if fans are treated to rivalries (Mets/Yankees) or to teams that “everyone” wants to see, i.e., the Cubs or Red Sox.

But Oakland?

Oakland in Atlanta?

All right. Back to the matter at hand.

This was a shaky start to the normally dependable and pleasantly surprising performance of one Jair Jurrjens. It could be argued which new player has made a greater impact; he or Escobar. But the Braves on Friday vividly illustrated the key to success, at least in my mind, to reaching October. And it can be summed up in one word: balance. I don’t care what kind of pitcher you are, you just aren’t going to be hot every time you are on the mound. So your offense needs to step up. And who cares if you are scoring 7 or 8 runs, if your bullpen is hemorrhaging runs like a sucking chest wound?

So Jair steps in, gives a shaky 2-3 innings, and finally gets his head right, pitching through 5 and (mercifully, for him) getting a no decision. Not trying to gripe, here, but he should be thrilled with a no decision. I know the box score only illustrates 2 runs on 8 hits from Jurrjens, but he also gave up 3 walks and got himself into trouble a couple times. Not to mention a botched throw to McCann at the plate.

And speaking of Brian McCann……(and if things keeps going like they did on Friday, Atlanta, as well as MLB enthusiasts the nation over will be speaking of McCann a lot), our stocky man-child behind the plate was extraordinary. Dude tags out a runner after receiving a rocket courtesy from Jeff Francoeur, hits two doubles and a single, with one RBI, and raises his average to .319.

What more can you ask from a backstop, eh?

And I’m with Rue. Andruw who? I mean, I liked the guy just fine. But would I trade him for Kotsay now? Nope.
So we bring in Kotsay to the plate twice on Friday. The first time, in a surreal twist of fate, he faces the pitcher we traded him for; Joey Devine, striking out. The second time, he hits the go-ahead run in with a double, bringing his own seasonal average to .304. Andruw Jones’s average right now? .176

And the bullpen? Outstanding.

And what a treat it was to observe Dr. Jekell and Mr. Hyde/Closer Manny Acosta absolutely slam the door on the A’s in the 9th.

So right now, the Braves home success continues. Maybe we can show a little more “southern hospitality” to the A’s and send them packing.

Glavine Pulls In First Win Of Year

Tom Glavine finally got some run support last night as the Braves held off the Phillies 8-6 for his first win of the year.  Yunel Escobar led off the game with a home run and Chipper followed with a homer of his own later in the first to put the Braves up early.   Glavine didn’t have a great outing, but he held his own against the Phillies’ offense - giving up four earned runs in five and two-thirds innings.  He struck out four, walked two, and gave up a two-run homer to Chase Utley.  But thanks to the offense, the Braves stayed out front.   Some extremely rare clutch hitting on the road came from Brian McCann (who had 3 RBIs), Gregor Blanco (2 RBIs), and Kelly Johnson, who added a home run of his own in the second.

Of course, the win couldn’t come without some late drama, courtesy of Blaine Boyer - who already blew two saves when Glavine was in line to get the win.  Blaine came in for the last out of the eighth and then stayed on to try for the save in the ninth.  After retiring the first two batters, he gave up a run on three back-to-back singles before getting the third out on a long fly ball to Jeff Francoeur that made it to the warning track.

The Braves walked out with a win on the road - but they’re still just 6-15.  That mark has to improve for the Braves to compete in the East - despite some recent great play, they’re still 2.5 games out in fourth place.  Tonight we’ll look forward to Chuck James (2-2) taking on the Phillies’ ace, Cole Hamels (4-3).  If the Braves can score some runs, we’ve got a chance.  We desperately need another road win.

Smoltz Smokes Nats

Dear Mr. Smoltz,

Thank you so much for your good work on Saturday, April 12th. Can you please keep this up all year? We would all appreciate it.

Sincerely,

The Writers and Staff at BravesBlast.com

Coming off of their much needed victory last night, the Braves dove right in to claim another from the Nationals at Washington today. An initial 91-minute rain delay did nothing to soggy the Braves offense.

In fact, they wasted no time at all scoring four runs in the first inning, with a little help from Jeff Francoeur knocking the first of his two homeruns for the day. When all was said and done, the kid From Parkview had a career-best seven RBI’s. You know things are going well when all nine starters bat in the first inning.

Francoeur’s second homer came in the sixth, with one runner on base. Not to be outdone by his childhood friend, Francoeur’s high-fives hadn’t ended when Brian McCann knocked a single shot some 400 feet.

Smoltz had a (for him) shaky first inning, goofing a throw to first and throwing a semi-wild pitch. But after regaining his classic composure, it was nothing but the Smoltz we know and love. Resourceful, professional, and keenly intelligent. I truly don’t think we Braves fans know how good they have it having a stabilizing and consistent force of nature like Smoltz in the line-up. Plus, it was pretty evident his shoulder was bothering him the entire game.

His line for the day? 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K. The one earned run attributed to Smoltz came in the 4th.

The Nats starter, Scott Lannan lasted through the 4th and the Braves went through three of their relievers by game’s end.

Finally, I am starting to feel good about our bullpen! With very respectable outings by Bennett and Boyer, Manny Acosta zipped it up in the 9th. The one stinker in all this, and the one guy I have truly been pulling for, was Ohman. Lasting less than an inning, he really didn’t do anything to counter the criticism Frank Wren took for acquiring him from Chicago.

So, yeah. Excellent series so far. Can you smell a sweep?

________________________________________________________________________________

Smitty’s Random Notes:
(A stream of consciousness recall of unrelated observations for the short-of-attention span)

» Sorry, Willie Harris, but I totally don’t miss you.

» Tough-guy Hustle Award goes to Matt Diaz for his aggressive and heads-up base-running.

» Still looking for Teixeira’s bat to wake up. The defense is there; let’s get something going at the plate.

» I still believe in you Ohman. I want to believe.

Braves Drop Third Straight

The Braves offense found its stride a little bit last night, scoring 6 runs on 13 hits.  Unfortunately, on the same number of hits, the Rockies scored 12.  After coming off of two solid wins against the Mets at home, the Braves have extended their road record on the season to 0-4 and overall to 3-6.

Chuck James was activated from the disabled list to make the start in place of the injured Mike Hampton and was feeling a bit under the weather.  His first time through the Rockies’ lineup went pretty smoothly, but the second time around he just got beat up on, giving up 6 runs in the third inning.  James left the game after the third having given up 6 runs on 5 hits, as well as striking out 5 and hitting 3 batters.  Hopefully this was just a rough start for him being sick and coming off of the disabled list and he can regroup as we head further into the season.

The offense put together a slightly better outing, but still ran into a few problems.  Two double plays and a lack of clutch hitting took away a number of the run threats that we had during the game.   Brian McCann was 3-4 with 3 RBI, including a two-run home run in the top of the 8th inning.

For the Rockies,  a pair of three-run home runs from Torrealba and Spilborghs didn’t help the Braves’ cause any in trying to snag a victory.  Chris Resop came in to pitch the last two innings for the Braves and looked awful.  5 runs on 5 hits in two innings is not something you want to see out of a pitcher in your bullpen.

The Braves and Rockies face off this afternoon in the last game of the four-game series. as the Braves try to avoid the sweep.  The Braves once again have an under the weather pitcher in Tim Hudson, who has been fighting the flu this week.  Hudson will face off against Jeff Francis for the Rockies at 3:05pm EST.

Braves Lose 12 Inning Marathon 12-11

Last night was - with no exceptions - the craziest ballgame I’ve ever been to. The BravesBlast crew gathered in our seats before the pregame ceremonies and stayed there until the final out over five hours later. Tom Glavine looked good. He sure threw a lot of balls - high pitch count really quickly - thus he only got through 5 innings. But the crowd was glad to have him back. We got the lead early - but the bullpen squandered that. Manny Acosta was horrible - hardly the calm and collected reliever we saw in spring training. He gave up four runs and two home runs in two innings, and all of a sudden it was 9-4, Pirates lead. Let’s hope the bullpen doesn’t lapse to last season.

Then came the bottom of the ninth - and we rallied. Started by the second string once again - who drew a series of walks, we somehow pulled alongside the Pirates on a lazy two-out pop fly by Brian McCann. Chipper kicked it into gear as soon as the ball was hit and when the ball inexplicably dropped in short center field, he was already crossing the plate with the tying run. McCann stood on first base with a look of disbelief on his face (that was proudly displayed on the big screen).

At this point, we brought in Soriano. He looked good and kept the Pirates scoreless after giving up a double. The Braves took him out as his spot in the batting order was coming up. Now by this time, the Braves had used so many relievers that Blaine Boyer was the only one left in the ‘pen.

Boyer was spotless in the 11th, striking out two.  We went to the 12th.  Boyer was back on the mound, partially because he was gorgeous in the 11th, partially because there were no more relievers.  Heck, Jair Jurrjens showed up in the bullpen and spent a little time warming up.  He’s supposed to start Wednesday’s game.

But Boyer allowed two base runners and then gave up a shot to right field that just cleared the fence - putting the Pirates up 12-9.  But nobody left - everyone who stuck through the 9-4 deficit in the 9th figured we could pull out of a 12-9 in the 12th.   And we almost did.

Francoeur’s solo shot (which I called, by the way) made it 12-10.  Then Diaz knocked in a run to make it 12-11. And with a runner on base and two outs in the 12th, Corky Miller (the only bench player left to pinch-hit for Boyer) popped a ball to center field.  This time they caught it.  And we had to go home.

Sure, we got an L in the W/L column.  But it didn’t feel like a loss.  It felt like a team ready to fight no matter what the odds this season.  It felt like our team was ready to do battle. It’s baseball season!

Rue’s Scorecards For The Night:
ATL  PIT  Extra Innings

Braves Fall To Nats on Walk Off

It’s a frustrating way to start a season - a bottom-of-the-ninth loss on a walk-off home run.  But Ryan Zimmerman broke a 2-2 tie with a shot that was JUST long enough to reach the first row of seats.  This was after pinch-runner Martin Prado scored the tying run in the top of the ninth from third on a passed ball.  So it’s frustrating.

But there were bright spots.  Despite giving up a couple of broken-bat hits in the first, that led to two runs, Hudson was lights out.  Chipper described him as “outstanding” and “flat-out dirty.”  But we didn’t support him with the bats - besides Chipper’s homer.  Brian McCann almost got a long ball of his own, but he came a foot or two short and was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.  He’s not the speed on the team. Mark Teixeira also came about a foot shy of putting one over the fence as well.

This is the same issue Hudson had last year - had we given him just a little bit of run support, he could easily have won 20 games.  I stand by that claim.  I think this year he has a legitimate chance to do so and would be considered my dark horse for the Cy Young award.  His stuff is downright nasty and he truly deserves the #1 spot in the rotation.  In the game vs. the Nats, Hudson got a little roughed up in the first inning, but fired back with 6 1/3 perfect innings, retiring 19 straight batters.  We need to get settled in the first inning as those runs come back to haunt in the long run.

Next up, we’ll all be at Turner Field tonight for the home opener.  If you’re there, drop by and see us - we’ll be in the front row of 437.  Should be the beginning of some great baseball.  And get there early - it’s sure to be crowded.  Drop by here for in-game converstaion, too.  Last night was lots of fun.

Braves’ Offense Rolling

Contrary to popular belief, and by popular belief I mean the all-time great former Mets’ GM Steve Phillips’ NL East preview on ESPN.com, the Braves are alive and well and clicking. The Braves, after losing to those Mets today, are sitting at fourth in the Grapefruit League in runs scored. Among teams in the NL East, the Braves finished ahead of all four rivals. Of course, this number doesn’t take into account the Phillies’ playground stadium. The Phillies’ spring training stadium-Bright House Field-does have a short fence, but on the right side of the field as opposed to the left at Citizens’ Bank Park.

Getting back to the team at hand though, the Braves should have little to worry about offensively from their starting nine. Yunel Escobar is hitting a cool .400 this spring after last year’s .326 (319 ABs); more importantly for Escobar, he slugged .557, second only to Chippers’ .658. Of course, this is spring training we’re talking about and stats don’t translate to the regular season, but Escobar’s work ethic and hitting discipline has never been questioned since he was drafted by the Braves.

Other surprises included included Martin Prado (.318 in 66 ABs, most on the team) and Gregor Blanco (.400 in 35 ABs), both of whom have a chance to make the team. Prado more than Blanco, but at this point I think Bobby’s seen enough from Anderson and Blanco offensively to make the decision based on defense and whether they will be proficient in all three outfield spots.

As far as the rest of the cast goes, Francoeur is projected to have a breakout year by many “experts” and fantasy gurus. McCann is healthy again and could potentially put up the numbers he put up in 2006. Teixeira hit just .188 but, again, this is Spring and isn’t really a preview of things to come. He’s been warming up as of late, anyways. Most of the players seem to be getting into form quickly, but to be successful this year, the Braves need to do better against left-handed starters. The team should have little problems manufacturing runs and may even be better with Tex in there from the get-go.

Braves Blast Nationals 10-2

Mark Teixeira blasted a 2 run home run to lead the Braves’ offense to a 10-2 win over the Nationals today.  Jeff Bennett got the start and pitched four scoreless innings, another encouragement of a bit of depth this year in the rotation.

The rest of the Braves’ infield got a piece of the action as well - Escobar and Timmons knocked in a run each, McCann got his RBI, Lillibridge knocked in two, and Prado added three.  Lillibridge and Prado are making the last bit of spring interesting as they battle for the backup infield slot.  If I had to guess, I’d say Prado has the upper hand because Lillibridge would benefit from playing full-time in Richmond.  Either he or Yunel is going to become trade bait before too long.

Will Ohman got the win, despite giving up the Nationals’ only two runs in his inning of work, in which he gave up three hits.  Soriano, Moylan, Acosta, and Ridgway all added a scoreless inning of their own on the mound, though they each walked one and struck out nobody.

Good to see the Braves’ offense moving heading into the season.  I’m glad Tex had a big day - he’s had a slow start and I for one want him to have the biggest contract year anyone’s ever had.  And then I want to re-sign him.

Braves Destroy Indians 11-4

The Braves’ offense beat the Indians to a pulp tonight as Brian McCann and Mark Teixeira led the offense to a nine-run fourth inning outburst.  McCann went 2-3 and knocked in three runs, while Teixeira went 3-3 and knocked in two runs, while scoring three runs himself.  The supporting role included Chipper Jones, Martin Prado and Jeff Francoeur with an RBI each.  Blaine Boyer even got in on the action with an RBI and a run scored of his own.

On the mound, the Braves started Buddy Carlyle, who looked decent early, but gave up three solo home runs when he seemed to think he was throwing batting practice.  Besides Boyer beating up on the Indians’ pitching staff, he pitched two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.  Tyler Yates got an inning in as well, where he walked two and struck out one.

Good to see Teixeira and McCann come out of their slow starts for a night and knock in some runs.  Both were very confident and solid at the plate.  We’ll need to rely on these guys all year to be competitive offensively.

In other news, Hampton pitched a successful simulation game, in which he pitched four innings and 59 pitches.  And he refrained from hurting his groin, breaking his elbow, or creating some other freak injury nobody has ever had before.  Good news is he had good movement on his curveball during the session.  He should see action early next week.

Next up is Chuck James in his spring debut against the Tigers.  He’ll pitch two innings and test his rotator cuff.  We’ll bring you the latest on that, too.