Well the first game without Mark Teixeira did not go good for the Atlanta Braves as they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 8-3.  The Braves allowed the Cardinals to score six late inning runs and come from behind to get the victory.  Before the game, the Braves traded Mark Teixeira to the Los Angeles Angels for Casey Kotchman and Stephen Marek.

Jorge Campillo got the start for the Braves and threw the first seven innings of the game.  Campillo gave up seven hits but only two runs in the game and he really should have got the win in my opinion.  It was too bad that the Braves bullpen couldn’t hold off the Cardinals so Campillo could get the win.

Rafael Soriano took the loss as he gave up one run in the eighth inning.  Mike Gonzalez was only able to record two outs in the ninth inning as he allowed five runs to score.  Only one of those five runs were earned however so things shouldn’t have been as bad as they were.

Gregor Blanco, Greg Norton, and Jeff Francoeur all had one rbi each for the Braves.  They just need a couple more big hits and for the bullpen to hold the Cardinals now.  That didn’t happen and that was why you seen a Braves loss on Tuesday.

Braves Baseball

- Cliff

First off, sorry for the late update as I totally forgot I needed to update the Braves site this week while Bart is out of town and studying for his bar exam. Good luck with that Bart, and we can’t wait to have you back here at braveshomeplate!

So yeah, Monday night was a night that the Braves have probably already forgotten about.  They were manhandled by the St. Louis Cardinals by the score of 12-3.  The Cardinals scored nine runs in the first five innings and were quickly up 9-0 on the Braves.  Charlie Morton took the loss after giving up seven hits and eight runs in only 3 2/3 innings.  Morton is now 2-4 on the season.  Jeff Bennett went on to give up a run in relief of Morton and then Royce Ring was charged with three more runs in the eighth inning.  It sure wasn’t a good night to be a Braves pitcher that is for sure.

On the offensive side, the first two runs came in the sixth inning.  Yunel Escobar hit a rbi double that scored Gregor Blanco, and then Mark Kotsay singled in Blanco for the second run.  In the eighth inning, Mark Teixeira doubled to deep left center and Escobar scored the third and final run for the Braves.

It will be interesting to see how Teixeira plays the next few days as he has been rumored to be being shipped out of town before the deadline on Thursday night.  If you hear of any rumors, please leave a comment on a post here and we can talk about them.

I think the Braves will come out and play a better game on Tuesday night.  I mean, they pretty much can only improve from Monday nights butt kicking.

- Cliff

The Atlanta Braves got a great performance on the mound by Jorge Campillo who pitched seven shut out innings and limited the Florida Marlins to only two hits while the Braves defeated the Marlins 4-0.  It was exactly the way the Braves wanted to start the series with the Marlins.  Campillo earned the win after striking out six batters and improved his record to 5-4 on the year.

Will Ohman and Mike Gonzalez pitched the eighth and ninth innings to finish off the Marlins.  All in all all three Braves pitchers threw a great game and did a great job.

Mark Kotsay got the scoring started in the 2nd inning for the Braves when he singled in Mark Teixeira for the Braves first run.  Chipper Jonese added a rbi single in the 5th inning and then Teixeira had a rbi double that scored Jones in the 7th inning.  In the 9th inning, the Braves added on an insurance run when Martin Prado doubled and Kotsay scored.

The Braves will look to go up 2-0 in the series as they face off against the Marlins again on Tuesday night.

Braves Blog

The Braves bats provided plenty of offense for Jair Jurrjens tonight, plating 9 on 12 hits.  And with ace Tim Hudson starting the rubber game tomorrow, we are in good position to take our second straight series. 

Just one night after mustering only one baserunner against Dodger starter Hiroki Kuroda, the Braves appeared to be in jeopardy of being shut out for a second straight night.  LA starter Chad Billingsly no hit us through four innings before we finally broke through with 3 runs off Billingsly in the 5th..

Billingsly, he of the disproportionately massive legs, was dominant at times, hitting his spots with an explosive low to mid 90s fastball.  He was locating his pitches at the knees and on the corners, embarrassing Chipper Jones a couple of times (It was only the third time all season Chipper struck out more than one time in a game). But in the top of the 5^th, Tree-trunk legs wasn’t able to escape a bases loaded jam when Yunel Escobar came through with the big hit for the second time in three days.

KJ and Kotsay led of the inning with back to back singles.  After a failed bunt attempt resulted in a K for Jurrjens, Gregor Blanco walked to load the bases with one out.  Yunel followed jumping on the first pitch, hitting a bases clearing, frozen-rope double just inside the third base bag.  

The Braves tacked on 3 more off Billingsly in the 6^th on a no-doubter solo bomb by Brian McCann to right center and a two run single by Blanco. 

The run support was more than enough for Jurrjen the surgeon.  He dissected the Dodger lineup to the tune of 6 Ks, lowering his ERA to an even 3 for the season.  Jair has allowed only 5 earned runs over his last 34.2 innings — an ERA of 1.32.

What else?

Jeff Francoeur doesn’t appear to have really figured anything out from a mechanical standpoint during his brief demotion. If you’re looking for silver linings, he did have a basehit and he managed to avoid any U turns on the night.  In his other three at bats, he hit two weak grounders and an inside out fly ball to right field.  The effort to stay on the ball is pretty clear, but his swing still looks long and slow.

Tex and BMac went back-to-back in the 9^th, each getting his 17^th jack of the season.

Chipper struck out thrice for the first time since August 28 of last year at the Marlins.  After reaching base safely 7 times in the Braves marathon win Sunday, Chipper is 0 for 7 with 4 Ks in the series.

Braves batters have struck out 35 times in their last 35 innings.

Kelly Johnson scored 3 times tonight, giving him 52 for the season.  That’s good for a tie for second on the team with Mark Teixeira.

Newly signed Julian Tavarez recorded only one out in the 9^th before being yanked for closer Mike Gonzalez.  There’s a reason this guy is suiting up with his third different team THIS SEASON.  I’ll continue to scratch my head on that acquisition.

Once again the Atlanta Braves lost to the Philadelphia Phillies.  This time it was by the score of 7-3 on Wednesday night.  The Braves have now lost two straight games in the three game series against the Phillies and must win on Thursday to avoid the embarrissing three game sweep at home.

Jorge Campillo was tagged for eight hits and five runs in only five innings of action as he took the loss for the Braves.  Campillo fell to 3-3 on the season with the loss.  Jeff Bennett, Will Ohman,  and Blaine Boyer all pitched well out of the bullpen for the Braves.  In the ninth inning however, Royce Ring allowed two more runs to cross the plate as the Phillies scored some insurance runs.

Ruben Gotay and Chipper Jones both hit solo home runs for the Braves but it still wasn’t enough.  Mark Teixeira also scored on a double play in the sixth inning for the Braves.  The Braves needed some more offensive firepower to keep up with the Phillies and it just wasn’t there tonight.  They did load the bases in the bottom of the ninth but were unable to score a run.  Just that kind of night.

Braves Blog

The Atlanta Braves scored three runs in the eighth inning but their rally still fell short as they lost to teh Philadelphia Phillies by the score of 8-3.  The Braves were down 5-0 after just three innings and then held the Phillies down while they attempted to come back.

The Braves got three runs in the eighth as two runs scored on a Greg Norton double and then they got another run on a Mark Teixeira rbi ground out.  It’s too bad that those were the only runs that the Braves were able to score because they should have scored more then that in the game.

Charlie Morton was roughed up in only two innings of action as he took the loss to drop his record to 1-2 on the season.  Morton gave up eight hits and five runs in just those two innings of action.  Home runs by Pat Burrell and Shane Victorino really hurt Morton.

The Braves bullpen was probably the highlight of the night for the Braves.  Well I should say up until the ninth inning they were.  Four pitches combined to throw seven innings finish up the game.  Buddy Carlyle tossed three innings, Manny Acosta two innings, Will Ohman pitched the eighth inning and Blaine Boyer started the ninth inning before being pulled for Royce Ring.  Boyer gave up three runs in the ninth inning before Ring came in and recorded the final out. 

Braves will try to get em on Wednesday I guess.  Who knows what Braves team will show up.

Braves Blog

The Atlanta Braves just can’t get the bats going against the Milwaukee Brewers as they lost for the second night in a row by the score of 4-1.  This time it was Brewers starter Dave Bush limiting the Braves to only one run before the Braves scored two runs in the ninth inning.  The Braves did have four errors in the game and that sure didn’t help either.

Charlie Morton pitched six innings and gave up seven hits and four runs.  Only two of those four runs were earned however due to all the errors that the Braves defense had in the game.  Morton is now 1-1 on the season after taking the loss.

Manny Acosta pitched the seventh and eighth innings and did a wonderful job as he did not allow a hit while walking one batter and striking out one batter.  Blaine Boyer came in and pitched the ninth inning and struck out one batter.

Omar Infante had the first rbi for the Braves at the plate as he grounded out in the seventh inning against Bush and Mark Teixeira scored.  In the ninth inning the Braves scored twice as Teixeira hit a two run home run to bring the score to 4-3.  However the Braves weren’t able to score another run to tie the game and they ended up losing by the 4-3 score.  The Braves did have their chance to score the fourth run as they had runners on the corner with two outs but Corky Miller lined out to shortstop for the final out.

Now the Braves will have to win on Wednesday to avoid the three game sweep.  The way they are hitting right now, I don’t know if they will be able to pull it off.  What do you think?

Braves Blog

The Atlanta Braves fell to the Texas Rangers 7-5 on Tuesday evening.  The Braves really struggled at the plate as they only had five hits in the game and left 11 runners on base.  This is a game that the Braves should be winning if you ask me.  Right now they just aren’t getting it done.

Tim Hudson only lasted 4 1/3 innings as he gave up six hits and six runs.  Hudson didn’t have his pitches working for him and you could tell right away in the game as Josh Hamilton took him deep for a solo home run in the first inning.

I will give the Braves bullpen some credit however as they did a pretty good job.  Jeff Ridgway pitched 1 2/3 innings and gave up one run but then Blaine Boyer and Royce Ring were able to pitched the final two innings of the game without any problems.

Brian McCann had a three run home run in the eighth inning to lead the Braves with three rbi.  Mark Teixeira and Omar Infante both had one rbi in the game to contribute as well but it still was not enough to get by the Rangers.

Braves Blog

Jair Jurrjens tossed 7 2/3 innings of shutout baseball as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Colorado Rockies 7-1 on Monday night.  Jurrjens gave up eight hits and struckout seven Rockies as he improved his record to 7-3.

Will Ohman recorded the final out in the eighth inning and then Jeff Bennett was brought in but he had some troubles in the ninth inning.  Two walks and a hit allowed the Rockies to score their one run in the game off of Bennett.

Chipper Jones stayed hot as he went 2-4 with two rbi in the game.  Jeff Francoeur and Brandon Jones both had two rbi in the game as well.  Mark Teixeira also contributed with an rbi of his own as the Braves had no problems scoring runs off the Rockies.

It was a good win for the Braves as they picked up a win on the road.  They will try for another win on Tuesday against the Rockies.

Braves Blog

John Smoltz made his first appearance since going on the disabled list. Unfortunately for Smoltz and the Braves, the Marlins were able to take advantage of some solid hitting in the top of the ninth. Matt Treanor doubled after an inconspicuous foul out by Chad Ross who led off the inning. It was then former Brave Wes Helms following with a single to put runners at the corners. Hanley Ramirez followed with a fly out to right-field. Pinch runner Alfredo Amezaga held at third, obviously concerned with the power and accuracy of Jeff Francoeur’s throw. That was fortunate as Jeff Francoeur let sail with a high and wild throw which allowed Wes Helms to move up 90 feet to second base. It would take a two out hit by Jeremy Hermida to get the runs home. That’s exactly what the Marlins got as Hermida slapped the pitch into left field. Two runs scored after Omar Infante’s short game of futbol. Infante has been playing good for the Braves in my opinion so I see this as just a bump in the road for our trusty utility player. Smoltz was able to get out of the inning after the next batter, getting Jorge Cantu to popup to first baseman Mark Teixeira.

The Braves would not go quietly however. Mark Teixeira led off the bottom of the 10th with a ground out to second. Jeff Francoeur then drew a walk as did Brian McCann the very next at bat. Josh Anderson then comes to the plate and smokes a ball to Jorge Cantu at third as it turned out Anderson had hit in what could have been a game ending 5-4-3 double play. Thanks to Anderson’s speed however, the game was able to continue with two outs and runners at first and third. Gregor Blanco then cames to the plate. Blanco doubled and scored in the eighth but also struck out twice on the night. I think Blanco may be a candidate for the lead off spot. He can score runs but driving them in is a different matter. Thankfully, he didn’t have to get an RBI tonight as Jeff Francouer scored on a heads up play after Kevin Gregg let loose a wild pitch. Gregor Blanco than grounded out to the pitcher to put the game into extra innings.

At this point I would like to point out that Jojo Reyes pitched a very good game. He needed only a minimal number of pitches to get through the first couple of innings. In total he only threw 74 in six innings of work. Reyes look to becoming one of our top pitching prospects. If this guy is able to get some run support behind him, I think that he can gain the confidence necessary to be good member of starting rotation.
Manny Acosta also had a good outing even considering the fact that he gave up the tying run in the 7th inning. Chad Ross got the RBI after hitting a ball which Omar Infante made a great play on. Instead of being a run scoring single it was a fielders choice with an out at second and might have been a double play had Infante been able to get the ball out of his glove. Acosta then walked Jacque Jones putting runners at first and second. Acosta looked to be in trouble with Hanley Ramirez walking to the plate, but the Braves hurler was able to get Ramirez to strike out swinging.

Rafael Soriano pitched a scoreless eighth inning, but things got kind of scary. Soriano opened the inning by walking Jeremy Hermida. Jorge Cantu then followed with a fly out. Next Mike Jacobs came to the plate and was intentionally walked to get to Dan Uggla who then flied out to left. Next came Luis Gonzalez who Rafael was able to strike out swinging to end the inning.

To say that the game was an edge of the seater would be an understatement. This game went back and forth. There were lots of Marlins base runners late in the game and it was very disquieting. I know that Braves fans have got to be sick of playing in one run games, but it has to be done. I think that the Braves must play to win constantly as they did tonight. Bobby Cox made some adjustments to how he handled his pitchers and how he handled his hitters. He allowed the hurlers to throw the ball, even with the tough match ups. He gave the green light to his hitter in a key situation. These things won the game tonight. Not to mentions the awareness and hustle of Jeff Francoeur. A couple of mistakes were made in the field tonight, but all ended well as we ran the base paths well and we pitched well even if Smoltz had a tough night.

To continue with the recap of the game, the bottom of the 10th brought Kelly Johnson to the plate leading off. The score was still tied 5 to 5 thanks for a scoreless top of the 10th by Wil Ohman who faced the tough order of Jacobs, Uggla, and Gonzalez. Kelly Johnson was able to draw a walk, setting the stage for Yunel Escobar. Coming into the at-bat Escobar was trying to bunt the runner over to second. Two straight pitches for balls and then a wild pitch by Logan Kensing allowed Kelly Johnson to get to second base. Escobar then got the green light with the 3-0 count. He was ready. Kensing threw a fastball which Escobar was able to drive to left center field and out. The ball hit the top of the wall and right into the hand of a Braves fan for the victory. Braves win 6-4 on a Yunel Escobar 2-run walk off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Notes: Tim Hudson’s strained hamstring from yesterday’s loss to the Reds does not seem to be serious enough to force him to miss a start. Blaine Boyer who injured his knee in yesterday’s game said that he was available in tonight’s game but was not used.
Jair Jurrjens then pitch