Archive for the 'Atlanta Braves' Category

The Marlins reached 11 hits, and had the benefit of two unearned runs, but they still lost ground in the standings.

Brian McCann tied a career high with five RBIs, including a tie-breaking two-run single in the eighth inning, to rally the Braves to a 7-5 win over the Marlins on Sunday afternoon in front of 30,478 at Turner Field.

The loss dropped the Marlins into third place in the National League East, one game behind the Braves and 7 1/2 in back of the Phillies with 38 games remaining.

Matt Diaz added four hits and he was a home run shy of the cycle. After taking the first game of the series on Friday night, the Marlins dropped the next two, finishing up a 2-4 road trip.

A day after having his career-high 16-game hitting streak snapped, Hanley Ramirez went 3-for-4, raising his NL-leading batting average to .361. But Jorge Cantu had his 11-game hit streak snapped on a hard-luck afternoon.

A pivotal play came in the eighth inning, after Ramirez led off with a bunt single, Cantu ripped a hard liner right at shortstop Yunel Escobar, who doubled up Ramirez at first with the score even at 5.

It was a struggle for right-hander Ricky Nolasco over 4 1/3 innings. The right-hander scattered nine hits, walked three, struck out four and threw 95 pitches.

Atlanta’s Derek Lowe gave up five runs, with three earned, in five innings.

Nolasco started off the road trip with a complete-game, three-hit, 6-2 win at Houston last Tuesday. In the remaining five games of the trip, four times a Florida starter was unable to pitch at least five full innings.

The Braves snapped the tie in the eighth. Kiko Calero, who gave up a run in the seventh, walked Omar Infante to begin the inning. Renyel Pinto replaced Calero and walked Kelly Johnson. Chipper Jones’ grounder advanced both runners into scoring position. With the infield in, McCann smacked a two-run single to right.

Ricky Nolasco struggled early, but the offense let him leave with a lead. Unfortunately, once Cristhian Martinez’s 1.1 innings were done, the rest of the pen decided they didn’t want to win the game, and Kiko Calero and Renyel Pinto both struggled with their control and gave away the game.

Hanley had another 3 hit game, and Chris Coghlan continued to be amazing at the top of the order, getting on base 3 times. Dan Uggla and Cody Ross also added two hit games, and the offense as a whole was pretty good. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to get the big hit as the game progressed, and the bullpen just couldn’t hold it.

Maybe a little overuse for Kiko and Pinto? Pinto has pitched in 13 games in August alone. He’s got terrible control as it is, but being overused can’t help it.

Still…

Today’s “winner” is…

Being tired doesn’t get you out of the Scott Olsen Mugshot Memorial Award, Renyel.

Playoff chances are not looking good now. They weren’t ever too great (though I had my hopes), but now they look pretty slim. Gotta take care of things at home in the next few series, and losing another series will just about end the season.

We need Nick Johnson and Jorge Cantu back in the everyday lineup, please.

The Marlins rallied late, but Atlanta’s Brian McCann came through with a key three-run homer in the 10th inning to push the Braves past Florida, 6-3, before 14,226 fans at Land Shark Stadium.

McCann drove a 2-2 slider from Luis Ayala into the seats beyond the right-center-field fence. The All-Star catcher had a big day after entering the game 0-for-16 against the Marlins the season. McCann finished 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and three RBIs.

Atlanta’s backstop was not the only Braves player to enjoy a big game as starter Javier Vazquez dominated Marlins hitters most of the night. The right-hander tired toward the end of his outing, allowing a leadoff home run to Cody Ross in the eighth inning but still pitched well. Vazquez held Florida to three runs on five hits over 7 1/3 innings while striking out eight.
Ross’ home run in the eighth gave the Marlins momentum as they put together a rally against reliever Mike Gonzalez. With two outs and the bases loaded, Jorge Cantu hit a slow roller to third baseman Chipper Jones that allowed pinch hitter Brett Carroll to score and tie the game at 3.
Florida starter Rick VandenHurk struggled early, giving up two runs in the second on a Casey Kotchman double to center field. The right-hander would settle down the rest of the way, finishing his outing allowing two runs on four hits over six innings while striking out a career-high nine batters.

Not much to say about this one. The opportunities to win were there, they just didn’t seize them, unfortunately. Bases left loaded in the bottom of the 8th in a tie game, and then in the bottom of the 9th, runners on first and second with 1 out and Brett Carroll grounds into the double play. Those hurt.

Gotta give out the Scott Olsen Memorial Mugshot Award, for the single player most responsible for the failings of the ball club on a given night. This is most unfortunate, as thanks to our failings as bloggers during the loss to the Dodgers last weekend, it had been damn near two weeks since the SOMMA had to be given out. I rather liked that streak.

Some might argue Luis Ayala deserves it for giving up the three run bomb to lose it, but he was in a tough spot, with the heart of the Braves order up and nobody available in the pen to save him, so I’ll give him a pass. One might also think Fredi Gonzalez might deserve it for intentionally walking Chipper to get to Brian McCann who hit the home run, but that’s also a tough spot. We’re talking about pitching to Chipper with one on and first open (.968 career OPS vs RHP) or McCann with a potentional DP (.902 career OPS vs RHP) possibility. Can’t fault him for playing the percentages. Just about the only thing I constantly defend Fredi on, even when it doesn’t work out.

No, my choice (Which is all that matters) goes to the man who struck out 3 times and went 0-5 batting in the number two hole.. With runners on first and second, he comes to the plate with 1 out in the bottom of the 8th. Pitcher throws a wild pitch, and the runners advance. If he can just get on base somehow, Hanley will get a chance…

And another strikeout for Emilio Bonifacio, who now ranks 2nd in the race for the lowest OPS in the NL. Don’t stop believin’, Emilio! Marlins’ nation is with you!

Wipe that grin off your face, Boner. You blew it!

At some point, the team will realize Gaby should start a game, right? I mean, I was defending Bonifacio aloud when he had that little month streak where he put together a .730 OPS and looked totally respectable, though outcast as a corner infielder still.

What’s sad is at this point, I’d almost be upset if Bonifacio was demoted or benched. I mean, it’s probably too late. Why make the move now?

Note: I don’t expect him to be demoted at all. We will probably acquire an Arthur Rhodes and that is all.

A poster over at SoFlaMarlins.com probably summed up Emilio Bonifacio as perfectly as anyone ever could, so I’ll close this rant up with that. I didn’t expect this to turn into a Bonifacio rant, but thus is the nature of light night writing, it often veers towards that anyways.

Bonifacio’s like that kid on the little league team who really doesn’t like baseball and would rather play xbox or fill his glove with ants, but his dad’s the coach and his son is going to bat 4th, play short-stop and pitch, and at first everyone was really angry, but then they realized it wasn’t the kids fault he was constantly set up to fail so then everyone just kinda hoped that the kid wouldn’t have to deal with a big moment because everyone but the dad knew how it would turn out and the failure isn’t even met with anger it’s just kinda met with sad silence and everyone is just really uncomfortable with the whole thing.

First things first, go over to NLEastChatter’s homepage and check out the “Chatter Up!” between myself and Matt F, the Braves Baseball Czar.
Now, what a win!

The legend of Ross Gload continues to grow.

Ricky Nolasco kept the Braves’ bats in check and Ross Gload blasted a walk-off home run to beat Atlanta, 4-3, on Tuesday night before 13,128 fans at Land Shark Stadium.

Heading into the top of the ninth tied at 2, the Braves broke the stalemate when Garret Anderson led off the inning with a solo homer to right field off reliever Leo Nunez. The home run was Anderson’s eighth of the season.

Rafael Soriano tried to shut the door in the ninth but could not. The Braves closer walked Cody Ross on four pitches before John Baker sacrificed Ross to second. That’s when pinch-hitter Ross Gload blasted a 3-1 pitch into the right-field seats to give the Marlins a 4-3 win.

Nolasco squared off against Atlanta’s talented right-hander Jair Jurrjens in a battle for sole possession of second place in the National League East. The Marlins starter had another quality outing, holding the Braves’ hot offense to just two runs on seven hits over seven innings while striking out five. Jurrjens was stingy on the mound as well, allowing two runs on seven hits over six innings while striking out five.

The third inning was rough for both starters as Atlanta’s Martin Prado continued his hot streak at the plate, driving in Ryan Church with a single to left field. The Marlins answered in the bottom half when Hanley Ramirez drove in Nolasco and Emilio Bonifacio with a one-out double off the left-field scoreboard.

The Braves evened the score when Nolasco gave up a leadoff homer to Chipper Jones in the top of the sixth. Jones finished the game 1-for-4.

Gotta go with Gload for the CCHOTG. First career walk off home run comes in a game against a divisional foe the Marlins were battling with for a wild card spot. Huge home run.

There’s been a lot of chatter of Hermida being moved to Cincy, and after that crap he showed tonight, I’m gonna pack his bags and buy his ticket. I’ve always been a Hermida supporter, but that play in the eighth where he was caught not paying attention and was picked off by Escobar following a one out single was a microcosm of the guys entire career: a great play, followed by one of the most mindnumbingly terrible baserunning gaffs you’ll ever see.

Maybe I’m being too harsh on the guy; we did win, after all. But man, that was infuriating.

Jeremy’s awfully lucky we didn’t need to bring Scott Olsen up tonight.

Got the horse going tomorrow, and you have to love the chances of winning the series with JJ. That would be huge, especially with the rumors that Beinfest is looking to make a move swirling around. Just hope it’s not Cody.

@

The Marlins are back at Land Shark Stadium after a very successful West Coast road trip in which they went 5-1.  The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Fish as they host the streaking Atlanta Braves.  Both the Marlins and the Braves come into tonight’s game with identical records at 51-48, seven games back in the NL East, and both teams trail the Rockies by three games in the Wild Card.  The Marlins offense showed signs of life in the Dodger series averaging 5.6 runs per game with a team batting average of .287, and will have to continue to stay hot against a great Atlanta rotation. The Marlins rotation will have to stop two particular Atlanta bats who have wreaked havoc against the Marlins, Chipper Jones (.314 BA, .939 OPS) and Matt Diaz (.414 BA, 1.130 OPS). The Marlins are 6-4 in their last 10, and have chopped down three of the six teams that were ahead of them in the Wild Card race.  With trade rumors swirling around the clubhouse, the Fish must stay focused and keep winning games if they plan on staying buyers with just a few days left till the trade deadline expires.

The Braves are one of the hottest teams in the Majors right now with a 15-8 July record, and they can thank Yunel Escobar for that.  Yunel doesn’t get much attention playing in the short stop studded NL East, but his July numbers are hard to ignore. In 65 at bats, he has a .369 BA, .461 OBP, and a 1.123 OPS.  This will be the last three games of the Braves six game road trip, they come into tonight’s series 2-1 thus far after taking the series in Milwaukee.  The Braves pitching staff has been dominant in July with a National League leading ERA of 3.12.

Let’s take a look at the pitching matchups for the series.

7/28/09, 7:10 PM ET

Game of the Series

Jair Jurrjens, RHP (9-7, 2.67)

Ricky Nolasco, RHP (7-7, 5.42)

Another game one ” Game of the Series” for me.  After the off day, I’m curious to see if the Marlins intensity stays the same after leaving Dodger Stadium.  Jair Jurrjens is pitching out of his mind right now and the Marlins will need to bring him back down to earth to pull this win off.  It will be ideal if the Marlins can scratch out a few early runs to support Nolasco, but Jurrjens is the type of pitcher you can get to the 2nd time around in the batting order, teams are hitting .206 against Jurrjens the first time through, and .256 the second time through.  If Nolasco can limit any first inning damage and keep the extra base hits down, he should be in for a much needed quality start for the Marlins to have a chance of taking this game.

Braves: Jair Jurrjens gets the nod for Atlanta.  Jair out-pitched Tim Lincecum his last time out. The right hander threw 7 2/3 innings of one run ball while striking out a season high nine batters in the process.  Jurrjens has won four of his last five game and looks to beat the Marlins for the second time in 2009.  He picked up the win back in May against Florida while throwing seven innings and giving up two earned runs.

Notable Marlin vs. Jurrjens

Hanley Ramirez – 4-12, 3HR, 3RBI, 3B, .333

Dan Uggla – 5-11, 2B, 1RBI, .455

Emilio Bonifacio – 3-7, .429

Cody Ross – 2-5, HR, 3 RBI, .400

Marlins vs. RHP

29-34, 4.4 rpg

Marlins: Nolasco takes the mound after a dominant performance in San Diego his last time out.  Ricky limited the Padres to just two hits, no earned runs, while striking out 10.  Ricky had ran into a two game hiccup before facing the lackluster Padre offense, so this outing should be a little more telling as to where he stands.  Atlanta has not been kind to Nolasco in the past, his career numbers are 1-4 with a 5.18 ERA.

Notable Braves vs. Nolasco (yikes)

Brian Mcann – 7-19, 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .368

Chipper Jones – 9-16, 3 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, .563

Yunel Escobar – 5-10, 3 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .500

Matt Diaz – 3-8, 2B, .375

Braves vs. RHP

31-33, 3.9 rpg

7/29/09, 7:10 PM ET

Kenshin Kawakami, RHP (5-7, 4.04)

Josh Johnson, RHP (9-2, 2.80)

Braves: Kenshin Kawakami went five innings his last time out, giving up one earned run with three walks and a strike out.  He took the loss in his last game against the Marlins, he pitched six innings while giving up four earned runs.

Marlins: Johnson will look to keep things rolling after limiting the potent Dodgers offense to just three earned runs over seven innings, improving his record to 9-2.  One word comes to mind when talking about Josh Johnson, dependable, he has yet to allow more than three earned runs in 17 straight games.  Johnson looks to make it 18 games in a row on Wednesday, he is 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA lifetime against the Braves.

7/30/09, 7:10 PM ET

Javier Vazquez, RHP (8-7, 2.98)

Rick VandenHurk, RHP (1-0, 2.45)

Braves: Javier Vazquez had his first bump in the road in a long time.  Vazquez allowed four earned runs over seven innings in Milwaukee, it was his was his first time giving up three plus runs since June 17th against the Reds.  He is 6-6 with a 4.67 ERA in his career against the Marlins.

Marlins: Rick VandenHurk was equally impressive in his second start of 2009.  VandenHurk limited the Dodgers to just one run over five innings on Saturday, but did not factor in the outcome.  VandenHurk has had some memorable games against the Braves in the past, and is 2-0 with a 4.19 ERA.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ge-tradenews072509&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

The Tigers have some interest in reacquiring outfielder Cody Ross from the Marlins and playing him in right field. Florida looked like they’d be in seller mode after being swept by the Phillies but have played well since and are on the lookout for bullpen help, with the Red Sox trying to interest them in Takashi Saito. If the Phillies acquire Halladay, though, the Marlins may stage a selloff, with outfielder Jeremy Hermida a likely bat to move. Triple-A infielder Gaby Sanchez might also be available.

Eh, not really sure there’s any reason for the Marlins to move Cody right now as he’s their 2nd best everyday player and certainly has more value ot the team than in a trade.

He’s pretty convincingly a better player than Nate McLouth, and the package the Pirates got for him wasn’t all that impressive. You want more than a couple of C prospects for a guy like Cody, who is really one of the better CF in baseball.

Also, not sure why it keeps being reported that we are looking for bullpen arms. None of the guys in the pen looks like he doesn’t belong, and in a worst case scenario (Ayala and Donnelly implode, Kiko’s arm falls off) we’ve got Lindstrom in the wings who could make the kind of impact he did in the 2nd half last year. In all honesty, the bullpen should be the least of our worries.

But then again, the front office seems pleased with Bonifacio’s work this season, so who knows what’s going on in their heads. Either way, this Braves series should decide once and for all whether the team is buying or selling.

Speaking of Bonifacio, the Gaby Sanchez’s time in the Witness Protection Program doesn’t seem to be ending, as he’s been up with the team and had a number of opportunities to see time over the last week and hasn’t had a single at bat.