Atlanta Braves 7, San Francisco Giants 6

The Braves scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th to win a game that they should have won easily. Andruw Jones singled through a drawn-in infield to knock in Julio Franco with the game-winner.

The Braves led 4-1 going into the bottom of the 6th, but John Thomson tired after throwing 5 good innings. He allowed 2 runs in the 6th letting the Giants cut the lead to one. Thomson got a no-decision, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, no walks, and 2 strikeouts in 6 innings. In the 7th, the Gryboski/Martin combination allowed 3 runs, and it could have been more if Michael Tucker hadn't been thrown out at the plate for the Giants to end the inning. The Braves added a single run in the bottom of the 7th to cut the lead to 6-5.

In the bottom of the 9th, JD Drew singled to lead off the inning. Julio Franco followed with an RBI triple that was mishandled by Giants rightfielder Ricky Ledee, tying the game at 6 with no outs and a runner on third. The Giants were forced to bring in their infield and their outfield, and after Eli Marrero drew a walk, Andruw Jones got the game-winning single. Roman Colon (1-0) pitched a scoreless 9th inning, and he picked up his first career win.

Hitting stars: JD Drew was 3 for 4 with his 29th homer and 3 RBI. Andruw Jones, Julio Franco, and Nick Green each had 2 hits.

Game notes: Chipper Jones did not start the game and entered as a pinch-hitter late in the game because he and his wife's 3rd child was born in the morning.

The Braves took 3 out of 4 from the Giants, and have won 6 of their last 7.

The Braves now head to Philadelphia for a 2 game series. Mike Hampton goes up against Eric Milton tonight.

San Francisco Giants 9, Atlanta Braves 5

Barry Bonds was on his game, and Russ Ortiz was not. That about summarizes everything in this game. Bonds hit 2 home runs, including the 2nd and 3rd longest in Turner Field history, and had 6 RBIs. The Giants scored first on Bonds' first home run, and had a 3-2 lead when Bonds hit his 2nd home run of the night. After that, it never was really close.

Braves hitting stars: Chipper Jones, Johnny Estrada, and Adam LaRoche were all 2 for 4. Rafael Furcal was 2 for 5.

Ortiz (13-7) pitched 5 plus innings, allowing 7 runs on 9 hits, 3 walks, and only one strikeout. He has had 5 consecutive shaky starts now. Tom Martin and Kevin Gryboski finished the 6th inning, with Martin allowing a run. Antonio Alfonseca, Roman Colon, and Juan Cruz each pitched a scoreless inning to finish the game.

John Thomson, who has been outstanding lately, faces Giants rookie Noah Lowry today at 1 oclock on TBS.

Atlanta Braves 9, San Francisco Giants 3

The Braves knocked around Jason Schmidt scoring 6 runs without Schmidt being able to get out of the 4th. Paul Byrd was a star at both the plate and on the mound.

It was 2-1 Atlanta in the 4th inning. The Braves proceeded to bat around and scored 4 runs to make it 6-1. The Braves cruised from there.

Paul Byrd (5-4) pitched 6 innings and allowed one run on 4 hits, 3 walks, and 1 strikeout. Antonio Alfonseca pitched a scoreless 7th, Roman Colon pitched the 8th and allowed 2 runs, and Juan Cruz pitched a scoreless 9th.

Hitting Stars: Paul Byrd was 2 for 2 with 2 RBI singles and a sacrifice bunt. Rafael Furcal was 4 for 5. Marcus Giles and Johnny Estrada each had 2 hits. Charles Thomas was 2 for 2.

Russ Ortiz will pitch for the Braves tomorrow against an undetermined Giants starter.

Atlanta Braves 5, San Francisco Giants 3

I don't like it when I type a game recap, and then the website shuts down causing me to lose what I just typed. Argh.

This was a fun game to watch. Jaret Wright and Kirk Rueter threw zeroes into the 6th. Barry Bonds broke the ice with a 3 run homer. However, the Braves rallied in the bottom of the inning, when Marcus Giles and JD Drew hit consecutive doubles to score a run. Chipper then followed with a 2 run homer to tie the game. The Braves then loaded the bases with, but Bobby Cox allowed Jaret Wright to hit for himself. Wright thought he was supposed to bunt(he wasn't), and he put the bunt down. Giants reliever Matt Herges forgot about the runner at third and instead threw out Wright at first base, and the Braves took the lead. They added an unearned run in the 8th to make it 5-3. The Giants didn't score again.

Hitting stars: Chipper Jones is on fire. He was 2 for 2, including the 2 run homer (his 25th), and had 2 walks. Marcus Giles was 2 for 5.

Jaret Wright pitched a good game. He went 7 innings, only allowing the Bonds home run. He allowed 6 hits, walked one, and struck out four. Chris Reitsma got the first 2 outs in the 8th but allowed a hit with Bonds coming to the plate, so lefty Tom Martin came on. He struck Bonds out. John Smoltz pitched a scoreless ninth for his 35th save.

Today the Braves play a day game. Paul Byrd will face Giant ace Jason Schmidt.

Atlanta Braves 6, Colorado Rockies 4

The Braves swept the Rockies. I was able to watch this game thankfully, yippee! Anyway, every Braves starting position player got a hit. Both Rafael Furcal and Andruw Jones went 2 for 4. It was a team effort to score these 6 runs.

Mike Hampton (10-9) pitched 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits, 4 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Antonio Alfonseca allowed 2 runs in the 7th, but Tom Martin finished the inning with no further damage. Chris Reitsma and John Smoltz pitched scoreless 8th and 9th innings. Smoltz picked up his 34th save in 37 chances.

The Braves started the scoring with 2 runs in the first inning. They loaded the bases with nobody out, and Chipper drove in one run with a groundout and Andruw hit a 2 out RBI single. The Rockies tied it on a bases loaded 2 run double by Todd Helton in the 3rd, but failed to take the lead when the runner on 1st base was thrown out at home. The Braves scored 3 times in the 4th and one more time in the 5th on a lot of bloop singles, and held on from there.

The Giants come to Atlanta for a 4 game series. Jaret Wright faces Kirk Rueter tonight on TBS at 7:30.

Atlanta Braves 8, Colorado Rockies 1

I didn't get to watch or listen to this game. Chipper Jones had a whale of a game, hitting 2 home runs and getting 5 RBIs. He now has 24 homers and 69 RBI on the season. He was 2 for 4. He's been on fire since the All-Star break as John Smoltz predicted, and his numbers are vastly improved.

Other hitting stars included JD Drew who went 3 for 4 returning to the lineup a day after cutting his head in the dugout. Marcus Giles and Julio Franco were each 2 for 4.

John Thomson (10-8) pitched 7 innings, allowing one run on 5 hits, a walk, and 5 strikeouts. Antonio Alfonseca and recently called up Roman Colon each pitched a scoreless inning to finish the game.

Atlanta Braves 6, Colorado Rockies 5

The Braves scored 4 times in the 6th inning en route to a come from behind victory. Rafael Furcal went 4 for 4, including a 2 run triple in the 6th. He was a homer short of the cycle. Julio Franco and Eli Marrero also contributed with 3 for 4 nights.

The Braves spotted the Rockies a 4 run lead in the first inning when Russ Ortiz allowed 2 home runs. Ortiz pitched 5 innings, allowed 5 runs, 4 earned on 5 hits, 6 walks, and 6 strikeouts. His control was way off, even for him. The Rockies had tacked on another run and had a 5-1 lead in the 6th when the Braves scored their 4 runs, including 3 with 2 out. Marcus Giles followed Furcal's 2 run triple with an odd double to tie the game in the 6th. Marrero hit an RBI single to give the Braves the lead they wouldn't relinquish in the 7th. Kevin Gryboski (2-2) got the win after finishing the 7th, and John Smoltz picked up his 33rd save.

Atlanta Braves 10, LA Dodgers 1

The Braves scored 8 times in the 2nd inning and blew out the Dodgers. Jaret Wright (12-6) pitched very well. He pitched 7 innings allowing 3 hits, a run, no walks, and 7 strikeouts.

Every starting position player for the Braves had a base hit. Chipper Jones hit his 22nd home run. Marcus Giles, JD Drew, Julio Franco, and Eli Marrero were all 3 for 5. Charles Thomas was 2 for 4 and Chipper was 2 for 5.

The Braves salvaged a split with the Dodgers. They're off tomorrow, and they host the Rockies in a 3 game series beginning on Tuesday. The Braves lead the Marlins by 7 and a half games.

I'm back

The Braves took 2 out of 3 from the Padres since my last post. They've lost 2 of the first 3 games from the Dodgers, including a 7-4 loss today (link above). They'll try to salvage a split tomorrow afternoon. I should be able to post a recap tomorrow night, barring an unforeseen circumstance.

Tomorrow's game is at 4:00 eastern time and on TBS. Jaret Wright will go for the Braves and Wilson Alvarez will take the hill for the Dodgers.

I will be unable to post for a few days. I'll try to recap the action I missed when I get back.

St. Louis Cardinals 10, Atlanta Braves 4

Sorry for the long delay in posting. I have been extremely busy, and on top of that, my internet access is not working properly.

Anyway, the Braves defense had a comedy of errors in the 2nd inning. The Cardinals scored 6 runs, and the Braves never had a good chance to get back into the game. John Thomson pitched only 4 innings and allowed 8 runs, but only 4 of them were earned. He allowed 2 hits, walked 3 and struck out 2. He didn't pitch nearly as bad as his line indicated.

Hitting stars: Chipper Jones went 1 for 4 with a home run. Rafael Furcal went 2 for 3 and had a walk and an RBI. Andruw Jones was 2 for 3.

I'm typing this recap as the Braves play their west coast game in the first game of the Padres series. I'll try to recap this game ASAP.

Atlanta Braves 9, St. Louis Cardinals 7

For 2 first place teams that could be postseason rivals, this was an ugly game. It was an enjoyable game to watch though; a seesaw affair. The Braves ended up on top after a 3 run 7th inning, aided mostly by Larry Walker misplaying a flyball in the sun. Neither starting pitcher could get an out in the 6th inning, and I don't think either one should have started that inning. The game was advertised as a pitchers' duel, but of course when that happens most of the time a slugfest happens.

The Cardinals got on the board first, on a first inning 2 run homer from Albert Pujols. The Braves countered with 3 runs in the 2nd, including solo homers from Chipper and Andruw (his 19th). Chipper homered again in the 3rd inning (his 18th) to make it 4-2. But Jason Marquis helped himself with an RBI single in the 4th to make it 4-3. In the bottom of the 4th, Rafael Furcal hit a 2 run home run (his 12th) to extend the Braves lead to 6-3. However, the Cardinals cut the lead to 6-5 in the top of the 5th, including another homer from Pujols. They tied the game in the 6th when Ortiz allowed the first 2 men to reach base, then when Tom Martin came on to try and get him out of the jam he gave up an RBI single to Walker. The Cardinals took the lead in the top of the 7th when Furcal failed to catch the ball at 2nd base on a potential double play, and a runner came around to score when the ball went into shallow center. However, the Braves scored 3 times in the bottom of the 7th inning on a Julio Franco pinch-hit 2 run double and a Charles Thomas RBI single. Chris Reitsma and John Smoltz shut down the Cardinals from there, and Smoltz picked up his 29th save.

The hitting stars for the Braves were Chipper Jones, who was 2 for 5 and hit 2 home runs and had 2 RBI; Rafael Furcal went 4 for 5 with a 2 run homer and had 3 RBI; Andruw Jones who hit a homer; Eddie Perez who went 2 for 2 and scored a run; and Nick Green who went 2 for 5 and scored a run.

Russ Ortiz pitched 5 innings and allowed 8 hits, walked 4, struck out 5, and allowed 6 runs; all earned. Tom Martin pitched a third of an inning and allowed an inherited run to score, but Kevin Gryboski struck out Pujols and Rolen to get out of the 6th. Antonio Alfonseca (6-4) gave up an unearned run in the 7th but picked up the win after the Braves scored 3 in the bottom of the inning. Reitsma pitched two thirds of an inning and didn't allow a run, and Smoltz pitched a scoreless inning and a third while picking up the save.

St. Louis Cardinals 4, Atlanta Braves 1

The Cardinal pitching shut down the Braves offense and allowed only 3 hits. The only run the Braves could manage was a solo homer by Chipper Jones, his 16th of the season. Woody Williams allowed one run in 7 innings, then Julian Tavarez and Jason Isringhausen shut down the Braves in the final 2 innings.

Paul Byrd did well for 6 innings as he allowed 2 runs and kept the Braves in the game, but he tired in the 7th and Larry Walker got him for a 2 run homer to make it 4-0. That practically put the game out of reach with the way the Cardinals pitching was shutting down the Braves. Kevin Gryboski came on to finish the 7th, then Antonio Alfonseca and Juan Cruz each pitched a shaky but scoreless inning in the 8th and 9th. Chipper's home run in the 7th kept it from being a shutout.

Today, the game is scheduled for 1:20 on Fox. The pitching matchup is Russ Ortiz (13-6, 3.22 ERA) for the Braves and Jason Marquis (12-4, 3.58 ERA) for the Cardinals. Another good pitching duel appears likely.

Game notes: Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray, Tommy Holmes, and Kid Nichols were inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame.

Tonight's game

The Braves will see tonight how they fare against the best in the National League this year, the St. Louis Cardinals. This will be a fun series. It's a potential playoff preview.

Tonight's pitching matchup:

St. Louis (Williams 8-6, 3.91 ERA) at Atlanta (Byrd 4-3, 3.86 ERA).

It's Woody Williams and Paul Byrd opposing against each other tonight; a matchup of veteran finesse pitchers. Williams has pitched well lately, and Byrd had an outstanding start his last time out. This should be a good one.

St. Louis has one of the most feared offensive lineups in the game. They're 2nd in the NL in runs scored. Atlanta is 5th in the NL in runs scored. Both of these teams can score some runs.

Atlanta has the best team ERA in MLB. St. Louis is 3rd in MLB pitching ERA. So not only do they have the best offenses, but they have the best pitching too.

I can't wait for the game to start!

Whoa

From the game recap on www.espn.com: (link provided in title)

"Wright improved to 10-2 in night games with a 1.81 ERA, best in majors."

If he pitched like that in the daytime, too, he'd be a front-runner for the Cy Young. But, I certainly have no complaints.

Atlanta Braves 4, Milwaukee Brewers 2

Jaret Wright, Comeback Player of the Year? He's certainly a legitimate candidate. He won his 9th straight game to improve to 11-5 and he lowered his ERA to 2.95. JD Drew went 2 for 4 and hit the go-ahead homer. Johnny Estrada hit his 7th home run and Andruw Jones hit his 18th homer.

Wright pitched 7 innings, and allowed 4 hits, walked 5, and he struck out 6. He allowed 2 runs, but only one of them was earned. In a bases loaded one out situation during the 2nd inning, Wright got Chad Moeller to hit a fly ball to right field. JD Drew threw a bullet that beat the runner by about 10 feet. The problem was that Estrada forgot to catch the ball, and tagged Lyle Overbay with an empty glove. This put the Braves down 1-0, but Estrada atoned for that error with a 2 run homer to make it 2-1. After Geoff Jenkins hit a solo home run for Milwaukee in the 6th inning, JD Drew hit his 26th homer to put the Braves ahead to stay. Andruw added an insurance homer later to make it 4-2.

Game notes: Both Johnny Estrada and Chipper Jones played tonight after leaving the game and missing yesterday's game, respectively. I'm not sure if Chipper's 100%, as he went 0 for 4 and struck out 3 times against Ben Sheets.

Ben Sheets pitched an 8 inning complete game in the losing effort for Milwaukee, following up his 18 K game earlier this year with 13 strikeouts in this one.

Phillies 15, Rockies 4

The Braves remain 6 games ahead of the 2nd place Phillies. Philadelphia is 4th in the wild card race, and they're only 3.5 games behind the Cubs.

Atlanta Braves 10, Milwaukee Brewers 3

Adam LaRoche went 3 for 4 and had 2 home runs and 3 RBIs to help lead the Braves to victory. It was his first career multihomer game, and he now has 7 home runs on the season. Other hitting stars were JD Drew, who was 2 for 4 with his 25th homer; Charles Thomas, who went 3 for 5 with 2 RBI; Rafael Furcal and Marcus Giles both went 2 for 5.

Mike Hampton (8-8) pitched 5 odd innings to pick the win. He allowed 9 hits, walked one, stuck out one, but only allowed one run. He had the benefit of 2 huge double plays. He faced one batter in the 6th inning after the power outage and gave up a leadoff double, and Kevin Gryboski relieved him and pitched a scoreless inning (leaving the runner on). Good move by Bobby Cox here, I think, because Hampton had a lot of luck earlier in the game and he could have been losing his stuff. Juan Cruz pitched 2 innings and gave up a run. Antonio Alfonseca pitched the last inning and gave up a run.

Milwaukee scored first in the top of the 2nd inning, but Atlanta countered with 2 runs in the bottom of the inning when LaRoche hit his first home run of the night; a two run shot. It was 3-1 when the power outage happened in the bottom of the 5th. When play resumed, Atlanta scored 4 times in the inning and had a 7-1 lead. It was crusing from there.

Jaret Wright is scheduled to pitch tomorrow against Ben Sheets. That should be a dandy pitching duel. But you never know...

Game notes: Johnny Estrada left the game after being hit by pitches twice; the 2nd time he was nailed on the kneecap and left the game. He was diagnosed with only a bad bruise, and they say he should play tomorrow.

Chipper Jones did not play because of a hand injury. I think he's day-to-day. Estrada moved up to cleanup, and Mark DeRosa played 3rd base and batted 8th.

Horacio Ramirez began his rehab assignment in Greenville, and he pitched 2 scoreless innings. When he comes back, the Braves will have a problem many other teams would love to have: 6 quality starting pitchers for 5 spots. It's possible Ramirez could go to the bullpen.

Last time I checked, Philadelphia was winning big, so it looks like the Braves will remain 6 games ahead of them in first place.

Lights out

In the bottom of the 5th inning with the Braves leading 3-1, a generator blew or something and half the power in the stadium went out. I think I remember seeing that maybe only one other time before while watching a game. The FSN announcers say it's going to be about 10 minutes before the power is restored.

It's an official game...if play would be forced to stop, the Braves would win. However, they should be able to resume play. I think that everyone would like to see them play 9 innings (or more) anyway.

Tonight's game

The Braves are hosting the Milwaukee Brewers tonight on FSN at 7 PM.

Pitching matchup:
Milwaukee (Santos, 9-7, 4.03 ERA) at Atlanta (Hampton, 7-8, 4.91 ERA).

Victor Santos has been a pleasant surprise for the Brewers, emerging as a quality starter for them. He's been inconsistant however.

Mike Hampton, other than his last outing, has pitched much better lately than his numbers show. He was a nominee for Pitcher of the Month in July (teammate Russ Ortiz won the award) and he was undefeated along with Ortiz and Jaret Wright in the Braves rotation. The 3 of them were a combined 14-0 as the Braves surged to the top of the division.

This looks like a decent matchup, but usually when that happens numerous runs are scored.

First post

Hello, readers. This is a test post. This blog will be mainly used to discuss the Atlanta Braves, although I'll also occasionally post something about other notable events that catch my interest. I hope that I can contribute some good thoughts. Thanks for reading.