Braves Tie Tigers In 10

Written by Colin on March 14, 2008 – 7:50 am

Yesterday the Braves played and tied the Tigers in 10 innings.  Led by three RBIs by Brent Lillibridge and help from a Joe Borchard RBI, the Braves took the lead after the sixth inning.  But Jeff Ridgway – whom we got in return for Willy Aybar – walked three and gave up an earned run that tied the game.

Chuck James, recovering from a partially torn rotator cuff, pitched two scoreless innings in which he gave up one hit.  He’ll likely start the season in Richmond, unless Hampton hurts himself again (knock on wood.  I’m not going to be responsible for Hampton’s injury…twice).  Following James’ outing, Jo-Jo Reyes pitched three innings and gave up five earned runs.  Reyes isn’t looking good this spring - He now has a 9.00 ERA. 

Some argue that stats mean nothing since the players aren’t all big-leaguers.  I agree that good stats can be misleading, but if a player is not doing well against a mixed staff of major leaguers and minor leaguers, they are not likely to get better against JUST big leaguers.  Jo-Jo fits in this last category and needs more time to develop his stuff – he has to find his confidence and get a grip on his game.  He doesn’t look ready for the big time to me.

Next up, Tim Hudson starts against the Phillies today at 1:05 PM.  He’ll face off against Francisco Rosario.


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Braves, Nats Tie In 11

Written by Jonathan on March 12, 2008 – 10:51 am

The Braves and Nationals played to a 2-2 tie in 11 innings last night in a game that saw the Braves go scoreless for most of the evening.  Tom Glavine made the start for the Braves, giving up 1 unearned run on 2 hits in 4 innings of work.  The one run came in the third inning, after an inning ending double play relay from Yunel Escobar tore through the webbing of Mark Teixeira’s glove, allowing the inning to go on.  This opened the door for Bret Boone’s RBI double to put the Nationals on the board first.  Referring to Escobar’s constant hard throws to first, Teixeira said after the game, “he might break my hand before the year’s over”.  Glavine also recorded 4 strikeouts and issued 2 walks.

Nationals reliever Joel Hanrahan came into the game and pitched 3 scoreless innings, recording an impressive 8 strikeouts and only giving up 1 hit.  At one point, he recorded 7 strikeouts in a row, stifling the Braves offense through the middle portion of the game.  Jesus Flores knocked in Ryan Zimmerman in the top of the 6th to put the Nationals up 2-0.

The Braves remained scoreless into the bottom of the 9th inning.  With two on and two out and a full count in the bottom of the ninth, Joe Borchard brought two runs to the plate for the Braves with an RBI single, tying the game 2-2 into extra innings.  The game was played through 11 innings, ending in a 2-2 tie.  The Braves preseason record now stands at 8-5-1.

Next up for the Braves is a game against the Cleveland Indians tonight at 7:05pm.  Buddy Carlyle looks to bounce back from his rough start in split-squad play last weekend with a solid outing.


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Braves 5, Tigers 4

Written by Jonathan on March 7, 2008 – 10:53 am

The Braves held off a late push from the Tigers yesterday afternoon to land a 5-4 victory, pushing their preseason record to 6-2.  Tom Glavine made his second start of the preseason for the Braves, yielding 2 runs on 4 hits.  Glavine handed the ball over to Ryan Drese to close out the third inning.  Drese faced 5 batters through the 3rd and 4th innings, issuing only 1 hit and gaining himself the win for the game.

Dontrelle Willis took the hill for the Tigers, pitching 3 solid innings, issuing only 2 hits and striking out 3.  Armando Galarraga replaced Willis at the start of the 4th inning and, through the next 2 innings, was accountable for all 5 of the Braves runs on the day.  The Braves took advantage of the 3 walks issued by Galarraga and doubles by Yunel Escobar and Joe Borchard to paste 5 runs on the board in the 5th inning.  Escobar was 2-3 on the day with 3 RBIs, increasing his preseason batting average to .500.

The Braves held the 5-2 lead into the 8th inning, when Braves pitcher Damian Moss gave up 2 runs on 3 hits before closing out the game and obtaining the save.  Zach Schreiber also contributed 2 innings of scoreless pitching for the Braves.  The Braves face off against the Tigers once again today when Mike Hampton takes the mound against Tigers veteran, Kenny Rogers.


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