Braves to go with 4 man rotation in the playoffs

Sorry, I'm a little late with this. If Jaret Wright's bruise heals like he thinks it will, he'll probably pitch Game 1, John Thomson Game 2, Russ Ortiz Game 3, and Mike Hampton Game 4. Paul Byrd will start Game 4 if either Wright or Hampton have injury issues. If Wright is unable to pitch Game 1, he'll probably be moved back in the rotation and everyone else will move up, making Thomson the Game 1 starter.

Atlanta Braves 6, New York Mets 3

Bobby Cox became just the 9th manager in MLB history to win 2,000 games in his career as the Braves took 2 out of 3 from the Mets. Russ Ortiz (15-9) rebounded from his slump with 7 decent innings and he won his 15th game of the season.

Ortiz allowed 2 runs in the first, but held the Mets in check after that pretty much. They did threaten to score, but Ortiz was able to pitch around it. He pitched 7 innings, allowing the 2 runs on 6 hits, 3 walks, but just 2 strikeouts. Antonio Alfonseca pitched the 8th inning but gave up a run, but John Smoltz was able to come on and pick up his 43rd save.

After spotting the Mets the 2-0 lead in the top of the first, the Braves picked up a single run in the bottom of the inning, tied the game in the 4th, and scored 4 runs in the 7th to take the 6-2 lead. The Mets scored a single run in the 8th off of Alfonseca, but couldn't rally.

Hitting Stars: Marcus Giles was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI. Adam LaRoche was 1 for 2, walked, and hit his 12 home run of the season. LaRoche had really done well as of late.

Doubleheader recap

These were a couple of meaningless games.

The Mets beat the Braves in Game 1 as Steve Trachsel shut down the Braves. Paul Byrd (8-6) pitched well only allowing 2 solo homers but the Braves lost 2-1.

The Braves rallied to beat the Mets in Game 2 by a score of 5-2. Jaret Wright was hit in the shin by a line drive, but dodged a bullet as x-rays are negative and only show a bad bruise. He's listed as day-to-day. Roman Colon (2-1) picked up the win even though he gave up a run. Johnny Estrada was 2 for 4 with an RBI, Adam LaRoche hit his 11th homer, and Marcus Giles hit his 8th homer.

The Braves play the Mets in the rubber game of the series at 1 o'clock, then have the day off Thursday before traveling to Chicago.

The Cubs are still fighting to get into the playoffs, and the Braves want to keep them out because of last year and because of the Cubs pitching being strong, so the Braves will probably have the everyday players in. This could be a first round preview, and both teams might go straight to Atlanta after this series to start the playoffs.

Rained out, doubleheader scheduled today

The Braves and Mets were rained out yesterday, and a doubleheader is scheduled for today starting at 4:30. Paul Byrd and Jaret Wright will probably be the starting pitchers.

While I was away

The Braves swept the Marlins, clinched the division for the 13th year in a row, and eliminated the Marlins from playoff contention.

Mike Hampton returned from his knee injury without much pain and pitched 7 scoreless innings in his start. Hampton got his 12th win and lowered his ERA to 4.38.

Mark DeRosa tore up his knee and will be out for at least the rest of this season.

Horacio Ramirez came off the DL, made a relief appearance struggling through one inning allowing a run.

John Thomson picked up his 14th win with another strong start and lowered his ERA to 3.73.

Chipper Jones has 95 RBI with 6 games left to get to 100 RBI for the umpteenth consecutive season.

Cincinnati Reds 3, Atlanta Braves 2

The Braves failed to clinch the division tonight. The magic number was at 2 and the Marlins lost to make it 1, but the Braves bats were silenced by the Reds pitching (not a good sign). At least the Braves will get a chance to clinch at home tonight against the Marlins themselves.

Jaret Wright (15-8) pitched well but picked up the loss. The sportsline recap said that he had "been drained by flu-like symptoms," but despite that he pitched 6 innings giving up 2 runs on 4 hits, 3 walks, and 6 strikeouts. He had a shutout going into the 6th when the Reds were finally able to break through after threatening in the 4th and the 5th. Kevin Gryboski came on to pitch in the 7th but didn't have it, as he gave up a run and only got 1 out. Tom Martin did a good job to keep out of any more trouble, and Antonio Alfonseca and Juan Cruz each pitched a scoreless inning in the 8th and 9th innings, respectively.

The Braves took a 1-0 lead into the 6th inning. They scored it on an unearned run in the first, but Wright allowed 2 runners to get on base in the 6th, then missed a throw back to him from the catcher which allowed the runner on 2nd to get to 3rd base (I haven't seen that since the Mets did it in 2001). A sacrifice fly scored the first run and allowed the runner on 1st to get to 2nd, then Sean Casey singled up the middle through a drawn-in infield to take the lead. They scored the insurance run off of Gryboski in the 7th, and held on in the 9th when they walked the bases loaded but allowed just one run to win. The Braves didn't have a single hit with RISP in the game.

Hitting Stars: Julio Franco had 2 hits. Marcus Giles reached base 3 times. Rafael Furcal, JD Drew, Johnny Estrada, and Andruw Jones all reached base twice.

Russ Ortiz (14-9) faces Ismael Valdez (13-8) at 7:30 on TBS tonight as the Braves try to clinch the division.

Another 2 game recap

Tuesday: Atlanta Braves 5, Cincinnati Reds 4

John Thomson (13-8) continued his outstanding pitching and Julio Franco added 3 hits to help the Braves hold off the Cincinnati Reds 5-4.

Thomson pitched 7 innings allowing just one run on 5 hits, 1 walk, and 9 strikeouts. Chris Reitsma struggled through the 8th giving up 2 runs, and John Smoltz nearly blew the save allowing one run in the 9th but he held on for his 40th save of the season, the 150th of his career, and his 57th game finished this season to vest his option for next season.

Hitting Stars: Julio Franco was 3 for 5; Marcus Giles, Eli Marrero, and Eddie Perez were all 2 for 4.

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecenter/recap/MLB_20040921_CIN@ATL

Wednesday: Cincinnati Reds 11, Atlanta Braves 8

I'm sort of glad I couldn't watch this game, because if I had I might be throwing things. Paul Byrd went just 4 innings, allowing 6 runs (4 earned) on 10 hits, no walks, and 6 strikeouts. The bullpen did a good job from the 5th inning through the 8th inning, with Juan Cruz, Antonio Alfonseca, Tom Martin, Roman Colon, and Chris Reitsma each having scoreless appearances. However, John Smoltz had a terrible outing and was only able to get one out while allowing 5 runs to score in the 9th inning and it cost the Braves the game.

The Braves rallied from a 6-2 deficit scoring 3 times in both the 6th and 7th innings, highlighted by Chipper Jones' 30th homer of the year, a 3 run shot that gave the Braves a 8-6 lead in the 7th inning. However, with the Braves holding on to the lead in the 9th, Smoltz (0-1) came on to attempt the save and had the meltdown, and he had his first decision of the year: a loss. It's tough to stage a big rally and then allow the other team to win the game. Travis Smith came on to get the last 2 outs in the 9th, but it was too late.

Hitting Stars: Chipper Jones had just one hit but it was his 30th homer. It added 3 RBIs to his total, which is now at 91. JD Drew reached base 4 times; he was 1 for 2 and walked 3 times. Marcus Giles was 2 for 3.

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecenter/recap/MLB_20040922_CIN@ATL

A 2 game recap

Saturday: Atlanta Braves 4, Florida Marlins 2

College is incredibly hectic sometimes, so unfortunately I didn't get the chance to recap the Saturday game. Jaret Wright was outstanding on Saturday, taking a 2 hit shutout into the 9th inning before the Marlins got 2 runners on base; Wright was relieved by John Smoltz who gave up both inherited runs but kept the Braves ahead. Wright (15-7) won his 15th game while allowing just 2 runs on 3 hits, a walk, and 5 strikeouts. John Smoltz picked up his 39th save, and he only needs to finish 2 more games for his option to vest.

Hitting Stars: Rafael Furcal and Andruw Jones each had 2 hits.
http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecenter/recap/MLB_20040918_ATL@FLA


Sunday: Florida Marlins 3, Atlanta Braves 0

The Braves offense was anemic in this game. They couldn't score off of the Marlins 5th starter, Ismael Valdez (although he has pitched fairly well this year), and were shutout. Russ Ortiz lost again, although he deserved a better fate in this game. He pitched 6 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 7 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. He only threw 83 pitches, and was probably taken out because the Braves desperately needed some offense while pinch-hitting for him, and also they're probably trying to conserve him for the postseason. The 2 runs he gave up were off of a home run, of course. He is now 14-9 on the season.

Hitting Star: Rafael Furcal provided practically the only offense, getting 2 base hits.

"Ortiz has allowed 22 homers this season, including 15 since Aug. 14. "
http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecenter/recap/MLB_20040919_ATL@FLA

Atlanta Braves 8, Florida Marlins 1

The Braves erased an early 1-0 deficit when Chipper Jones hit a 3 run homer in the 4th inning and they never looked back. Paul Byrd pitched 5 solid innings on 3 days of rest as the Braves cruised to a 8-1 win.

The Marlins scored a single run in the 3rd inning in a scoreless game, but that was all they got as Charles Thomas threw out a runner at the plate for the 3rd out of the inning. Chipper Jones hit the 3 run homer the next inning as the Braves scored 4 that inning, and 3 the next inning. They added another run late on JD Drew's 31st homer.

Paul Byrd (8-5) allowed a bunch of hits, but he threw strikes and got out of trouble frequently. He pitched 5 innings allowing one run on 9 hits, 0 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Kevin Gryboski, Antonio Alfonseca, Chris Reitsma, and John Smoltz each pitched a scoreless inning to finish up the game. Smoltz, if I'm not mistaken, finished his 55th game and he only needs 3 more games finished to vest his option for next year.

Hitting Stars: Marcus Giles and Adam LaRoche were both 3 for 5. Chipper Jones hit the big 3 run homer in the 4th (his 29th homer, and he now has 88 RBIs). JD Drew hit his 31st homer, and he now has 89 RBIs. Drew also reached base 3 other times by walking. Johnny Estrada and Charles Thomas both reached base twice. Pretty productive night for the offense, good pitching too; a good team effort overall other than the 2 errors.

New York Mets 9, Atlanta Braves 4

Well, Jose Capellan gave up 7 runs in the first inning, and even though the Braves got the tying run to the plate in the 7th, they didn't ever get close.

Capellan (0-1) pitched just one inning, allowing 7 runs on 6 hits, 2 walks, and no strikeouts. He gave up 2 home runs in the first inning. Travis Smith, Tim Drew, Dan Meyer, Roman Colon, and Juan Cruz finished the game, and only Colon gave up an earned run.

Hitting Stars: Other than Eddie Perez going 2 for 4, there weren't really any.

Atlanta Braves 2, New York Mets 0

The thing about having good starting pitching is that even when you're not playing that well you won't go into prolonged slumps. The Braves offense was pretty anemic, but John Thomson shut out the Mets through 7 innings and the Braves evened up the 5 game series at 2 games apiece.

Thomson (12-8) lowered his ERA to 3.92 as he continued his excellent work of late. He pitched 7 innings and allowed no runs on 5 hits, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts. Chris Reitsma pitched a scoreless 8th inning walking one and striking out 2, and John Smoltz struck out one in the 9th as he picked up his 38th save.

The Braves scored both runs in the first inning. I didn't get to watch this game, but apparently it was a pretty bizarre way of scoring:
"Giles and J.D. Drew scored on nearly identical slides in the first inning, touching the plate with their left hand before catcher Jason Phillips' tag. Howe argued the first call with plate umpire Brian O'Nora."
After the first inning, the Braves did nothing. Al Leiter struck out 11 Braves in a losing cause.

Hitting Stars: Marcus Giles was 3 for 4 with 2 doubles. The only other Brave to get a hit (this is starting to become more of a frequent problem) was JD Drew, who was 1 for 2 but with 2 walks.

Game Notes: There was about an hour long rain delay in the first inning.

The home plate umpire Brian O'Nora had to leave the game and was taken to a hospital because of a viral infection.

Jose Capellan is scheduled to pitch tonight against Steve Trachsel. I'll actually get to watch most of it; the game is on TBS.

Dan Meyer promoted

With Mike Hampton and Horacio Ramirez injured, and Tom Martin being himself out of the bullpen, the Braves needed another lefty and called up prospect Dan Meyer. He's had a good year at Greenville and Richmond. He made his debut last night against the Mets and pitched a scoreless inning in relief.

New York Mets 7, Atlanta Braves 0

Kris Benson completely shut down the Braves' offense, and Russ Ortiz continued his struggles as the Braves got routed by the Mets 7-0. If Ortiz continues to pitch like this he'll be moved back in the playoff rotation for sure.

Ortiz (14-8) went 5 and two thirds innings and allowed all 7 runs on 9 hits, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts. He seems to be having problems with the home run; I think he had been one of the league leaders in allowing fewest home runs until lately, but he's surely not anymore. His ERA went over 4 for the first time since June. After he left in the 6th, Tom Martin allowed his inherited runs to score on 2 hits without getting anyone out, and Tim Drew had to come on to finish the 6th. Drew also pitched a scoreless 7th. Dan Meyer made his ML debut and pitched well; a scoreless 8th inning allowing one hit and striking out one.

Hitting Stars: Johnny Estrada was 2 for 4. The only other Braves to reach base were Rafael Furcal and Andruw Jones on singles.

Looking ahead...the playoff rotation

If Mike Hampton pitches at all in the postseason, I think it will be coming out of the bullpen. This helps to clear up the probable rotation for the postseason. Jaret Wright and Russ Ortiz will obviously start in the playoffs, but if the Braves go with a 3 man rotation in the first round like they normally do that leaves it between Paul Byrd and John Thomson.

Paul Byrd is 7-5 with a 3.34 ERA in 15 starts since coming back from the DL. He has 17 walks and 63 strikeouts in 94 1/3 innings pitched.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5468

John Thomson is 11-8 with a 4.08 ERA in 29 starts this season. He has 46 walks and 115 strikeouts in 174 1/3 innings this season. Since the All-Star break, he has been impressive: 5-1 with a 2.91 ERA.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5772


This is one of those "problems" that a number of other teams would love to have. The Braves have 4 quality starters (and it would be 5 if Hampton were completely healthy...possibly 6 or 7 with Capellan and Ramirez). My guess is that the Braves would go with Byrd as the number 3 starter in the NLDS. If they get to the NLCS and the World Series, then they would probably shift to a 4 man rotation, with Thomson getting Game 4 starts.

This looks like a pretty good rotation:

RHP Jaret Wright 14-7 3.39 ERA
RHP Russ Ortiz 14-7 3.82 ERA
RHP Paul Byrd 7-5 3.34 ERA
RHP John Thomson 11-8 4.08 ERA

The Braves probably can't go too far wrong with those choices.

NL Wild Card standings

San Francisco is somehow leading the standings, despite the fact that no one on their team other than Barry Bonds and Jason Schmidt are having good years-and Schmidt's been struggling coming back from an injury. The Cubs are a half game back, Houston is one game back, Florida and San Diego are 2 games back, and Philadelphia is 5 back.

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/standings/playoffrace

This link has some details about how far each club is from first place, how many games they have remaining, and who they would play if the playoffs were to start today.

In the National League, St. Louis would play the Wild Card unless a team from their division (Chicago or Houston) won it. If that were to happen, they would play the division winner with the worst record, and that's Los Angeles right now.

If San Francisco somehow wins the wild card, then St. Louis would play them and Atlanta would host the Dodgers. If a Central team wins it, then St. Louis would host Los Angeles and Atlanta would host the wild card. I think that one of the central teams will win it; I can't see how San Francisco can, although they are leading.

My prediction is that Houston will win because they have been hot lately, and the Braves will host them with the Dodgers going to St. Louis for Game 1.

News on Hampton

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/sports/baseball/mlb/atlanta_braves/9656907.htm
(link also posted in title)

"The news on pitcher Mike Hampton was mixed Monday.

An MRI of the left-hander's left knee revealed torn cartilage, which will require surgery. However, with the blessing of the team's medical staff, Hampton plans to postpone surgery and continue pitching.

"I don't know if anybody can tell you there's a 50-50 chance (he can do it), but we're going to try," manager Bobby Cox said. "We're going to try and get him through this season."

Hampton felt his knee pop in the fifth inning of last Saturday's start against Montreal. The recovery time from surgery is four to eight weeks. Team officials indicated that if he undergoes the procedure this winter, he'd be ready for the start of spring training.

Doctors said the tear in Hampton's meniscus cartilage won't worsen if he continues pitching. But the team is concerned about Hampton pitching in pain and whether it would force him to alter his delivery to compensate.

The lefty, whose knee was drained of fluid Monday, will rejoin the team today, but he'll miss his next start. Rookie Jose Capellan will replace him against the Mets in the series finale Thursday night."


Hopefully he doesn't screw up his mechanics. That could have huge future repercussions. Also, Jose Capellan will pitch on 3 days rest taking Hampton's place in his next start. This concerns me a little, because Capellan threw 111 pitches in his last outing and also he has never even come close to throwing as many innings before as he has this season at age 23.

Atlanta Braves 7, New York Mets 1

Paul Byrd (7-5) pitched 8 strong innings as the Braves won the nightcap of the doubleheader 7-1. JD Drew had a big night going 4 for 5 with 3 RBIs. He had 6 hits on the day including the first game.

Byrd gave up a solo homer to the first batter of the game, Mike Cameron, but he had no further problems. He threw 100 pitches and ate some innings to help the bullpen get some much needed rest. He pitched 8 innings and allowed one run on 7 hits, 0 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Chris Reitsma pitched a perfect 9th.

Down 1-0, the Braves scored 4 times in the 3rd inning and never looked back as they added runs in the 4th, 7th, and 9th innings. They did it without a home run in the game.

Hitting Stars: Drew who was 4 for 5 with the 3 RBIs. Nick Green, Chipper Jones, Adam LaRoche, and Eddie Perez all had 2 hits. LaRoche added 2 RBIs.

New York Mets 9, Atlanta Braves 7

The Braves lost game 1 of the doubleheader after leading 4-1 in the 6th inning. Jaret Wright (14-7) fatigued, and Bobby Cox was reluctant to go to the bullpen after their struggles lately and it cost the Braves. Wright gave up 5 runs in the 6th, and even though the Braves offense rallied, Travis Smith gave up a 3 run homer to put the game out of reach.

Wright ended up going 5 and two thirds innings allowing 6 runs on 7 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. Kevin Gryboski and Tim Drew had scoreless appearances, but Smith gave up the homer to put the game out of reach.

Hitting Stars: Andruw Jones had just one hit, but it was a 2 run homer in the 4 run 4th (his 28th homer). Marcus Giles was 3 for 5. JD Drew and Adam LaRoche each had 2 hits.

Atlanta Braves 9, Montreal Expos 8

The Braves completed the 3 game sweep of the Expos. They did it despite a bullpen meltdown and a blown 7-3 lead. They also just barely won despite the fact that they scored in every one of the first 7 innings. This turned out to be an excellent ballgame to watch though. The Braves won on an Andruw Jones double that knocked in Charles Thomas from 1st base with nobody out in the bottom of the 12th inning.

Jose Capellan had a decent first ML start. He pitched 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. It took him 111 pitches to get through 5, so he came out and gave the game to the bullpen.

The bullpen for the Braves today was pretty bad. Kevin Gryboski pitched the 6th inning and gave up a run on 3 hits. Tom Martin pitched two thirds of an inning in the 7th and gave up 2 runs, and Antonio Alfonseca had to come on and get out of the jam. (Alfonseca has been quite good lately, he's been one of the most reliable relievers...maybe he should have a bigger role down the stretch?) Chris Reitsma actually pitched a perfect 8th for once. John Smoltz had a rare bad outing and blew his 4th save and a 3 run lead. Roman Colon pitched a scoreless 10th, and Juan Cruz pitched the last 2 innings without allowing a run and picked up the win when the Braves won in the bottom of the 12th. He is now 6-2.

The Braves did an excellent job on offense, however. As mentioned in the first paragraph, they scored in each of the first 7 innings. Only in the 4th did they score more than one run. I'll mention all of the hitting stars:

Hitting Stars: Eddie Perez had a perfect 4 for 4 day and was a triple short of the cycle. He has to be one of the slowest players on the Braves and there was virtually no chance of that happening though. Rafael Furcal was 3 for 5 with his 14th homer. Chipper Jones was 2 for 5 with his 28th homer. Andruw Jones was 2 for 5 with his 27th homer. Marcus Giles added 2 hits.

The Braves travel to New York to take on the Mets in a doubleheader tomorrow and will play what will be pretty much a 5 game series. Jaret Wright and Paul Byrd are the scheduled pitchers for tomorrow.

Atlanta Braves 8, Montreal Expos 1

The Braves broke open a 2-1 game in the 7th with runs off of a tired Livan Hernandez to take an 8-1 lead and cruise from there. Rafael Furcal played and hit a home run in his first game back since his arrest (his 13th homer), and Andruw Jones hit his 26th home run to help the Braves cause.

Mike Hampton pitched shutout ball into the 5th inning when he had to leave with a knee injury. He is scheduled to have an MRI today; that can't possibly be good news. He allowed no runs on 4 hits, no walks, and 3 strikeouts. Juan Cruz (5-2) came on after Hampton left and pitched 1 and two thirds scoreless innings, picking up the win. Roman Colon, Antonio Alfonseca, and Travis Smith each pitched scoreless innings to finish up the game.

Hitting Stars: Furcal with his 13th homer and Andruw with his 26th homer. Both of them had 2 hits and 1 RBI. Chipper Jones was 2 for 4 with a walk and an RBI. Adam LaRoche hit a big 2 run double in the 6 run 7th inning.

Jose Capellan makes his major league debut today against the Expos' Tony Armas.

Atlanta Braves 4, Montreal Expos 3

This is the biggest win that the Braves have had in a while. Johnny Estrada hit a 1st inning 3 run homer and Marcus Giles added a solo shot as John Thomson pitched 6 solid innings. The Braves held on to win.

Estrada's homer countered a single 1st inning run by Montreal to give the Braves a 3-1 lead. The Expos got a single run in the 5th, but the Braves countered with a solo shot to take a 4-2 lead. The Expos got within a run in the 8th inning as Chris Reitsma's struggles continued, but John Smoltz was able to close it down.

Thomson (11-8) went 6 innings allowing 2 runs (one earned) on 7 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. Antonio Alfonseca kept up his good work lately with a scoreless 7th inning. Reitsma allowed 2 bloop hits in the 8th inning; when you're struggling, these things happen. He wasn't able to get an out, but Smoltz pitched the final 2 innings allowing only the inherited runner at 3rd base with no one out to score. Smoltz wasn't as sharp as he is sometimes, but it was good enough for his 37th save. He has finished 53 games and only needs to finish 4 more to vest his option for next year.

Hitting Stars: Johnny Estrada was 1 for 3 with the big 3 run homer, his 9th of the season. Marcus Giles was only 1 for 4, but his homer was the difference in the game.

Game notes: Rafael Furcal arrived at the ballpark only about an hour and a half before gametime after spending most of the day in jail. He did not play, but he is expected to be in the lineup Saturday night.

Horrible News

Rafael Furcal was arrested and charged with DUI early this morning. (link in title) This won't help the Braves snap out of the slump, for sure.

Philadelphia Phillies 9, Atlanta Braves 4

The Braves fell behind 4-0 in the first 2 innings as Russ Ortiz reverted back to early April form and didn't make it out of the 3rd. They rallied back to tie the game, but a Jim Thome 2 run double off of Roman Colon (1-1) gave the Phillies a lead they would only add to in the final innings.

The game included a freak home run: Charles Thomas drove a pitch to deep right center field for what looked like would be a double. Phillies centerfielder Jason Michaels got to the ball, and as it bounced off his glove toward the ground he made a desperate attempt to catch the ball a 2nd time. Instead, he hit the ball with his glove and knocked it over the wall for a home run.

Russ Ortiz, as mentioned before, didn't pitch well at all. He didn't get a decision as the Braves rallied back to briefly tie the game, but he only pitched 2 and a third innings, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits, 4 walks, and 1 strikeout. His first 2 pitches of the game were hit out of the ballpark. Mike Lieberthal added a home run in the 2nd inning. When he walked the bases loaded with one out in the 3rd Bobby Cox yanked him. Juan Cruz came on and induced a double play to get out of that jam with no damage, and he pitched a scoreless 4th. Tom Martin and Kevin Gryboski came on to hold the Phillies scoreless over the next 2 innings, before Colon came on in the 7th and allowed 2 runs for his first major league loss. Chris Reitsma allowed a solo homer in the 8th and Tim Drew allowed 2 more runs in the 9th. For the most part, not a good night for the pitchers.

Hitting Stars: Chipper Jones was 2 for 4 with a 3 run homer (his 27th). Charles Thomas was 1 for 3 with the freak home run, his 4th of the year. Rafael Furcal and Andruw Jones added 2 hits.

John Thomson will face the Expos' John Patterson at 7 o'clock tonight on TBS.

Good News

"The Braves will recall RHP Jose Capellan from Triple-A Richmond to start either Saturday or Sunday. Capellan was 4-2 for Richmond with a 2.51 ERA in seven starts. " (link in title)

I'm looking forward to seeing that upper 90's heater and that nasty slider.

Philadelphia Phillies 4, Atlanta Braves 1

It seems that all the Braves had going last night was starting pitching. The offense was shut down and the defense cost the Braves at least one of the runs. Paul Byrd continues to pitch well, going 6 and two thirds innings allowing 2 runs on 8 hits, 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts. Tom Martin and Antonio Alfonseca had scoreless appearances, but Juan Cruz allowed 2 runs in the 9th although one was unearned.

Hitting Stars: Julio Franco had 2 hits. Eli Marrero was the only other Brave to get a hit.

Game notes: Marcus Giles left the first game and JD Drew left the second game. Both of them were hit by pitches. They are listed as day-to-day.

JD Drew lost his 16 game hitting streak after not getting a hit then leaving the game in the 6th inning.

Philadelphia Phillies 5, Atlanta Braves 3

In the first game of the doubleheader, Jim Thome hit a 8th inning 3-run homer off of Tom Martin to give the Phillies a come from behind win. I didn't get to watch this game, and I won't get to watch the 2nd game either although I am able to listen to it on the radio. Jaret Wright apparently bummed his way through 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits, 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts. It took him 110 pitches to get through 6 innings. Chris Reitsma (6-4) had allowed Martin's inherited runners to reach base, and he picked up the loss. Antonio Alfonseca, Kevin Gryboski, and Roman Colon had scoreless outings.

Hitting Stars: There weren't many, but Adam LaRoche was 1 for 3 with his 10th homer of the season. It was a 2 run shot in the 5th inning.

Bad News

(link in title)

Horacio Ramirez might be done for the year. If so, hopefully he can come back strong and pick up where he left off before he went on the DL next season.

Rained out

The Braves and Phillies were rained out tonight. The game has been rescheduled for tomorrow beginning at 4:35 (must have picked that time because I can't watch then). I'm guessing Jaret Wright and Paul Byrd will pitch tomorrow's games.

Atlanta Braves 3, Philadelphia Phillies 1

The Braves got this game in despite threatening rain from the remnants of Hurricane Frances and picked up a win. Travis Smith made a spot start for Mike Hampton who was scratched because of a stiff neck, and Smith pitched adequately considering the circumstances. He pitched 5 innings allowing a run on 5 hits, 2 walks, but no strikeouts. He got just enough support to win. Tom Martin and Antonio Alfonseca pitched scoreless 6th and 7th innings. Chris Reitsma got an out in the 8th inning, and John Smoltz finished the game picking up his 36th save.

The Braves left way too many men on base. They've done this for about a week now, and while they've only lost like once, they can't afford to do that in postseason. Smith picked up his first major league win in over 2 years. He is 1-3 on the season.

Hitting Stars: Andruw Jones went 2 for 3 and hit his 25th homer along with 2 RBI. He drew a walk as well; good news for him. When his plate discipline does well, he hits well. Julio Franco was 3 for 4. JD Drew went 2 for 2 and walked 3 more times. He has a 15 game hitting streak. Rafael Furcal added 2 hits.

Game notes: Johnny Estrada missed the first part of the game and didn't arrive at the stadium until the 3rd inning because of the birth of his son.

I'll be really surprised if they play tomorrow's game. I think they'll be rained out, but I've been wrong many times before.

Montreal Expos 4, Atlanta Braves 3

I suppose you can't win them all. Tony Batista knocked in Endy Chavez with an RBI double in the 12th inning to end the game. Juan Cruz got the loss. He's now 4-2 on the year.

The Expos scored single runs in the first 2 innings although it could have been a whole lot worse. John Thomson had already allowed one run in the 2nd inning and the bases were loaded with nobody out, but he managed to get out of the inning with no further damage. Thomson really settled down after that allowing just those 2 runs on 6 hits, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts in 6 innings of work. He should have stayed in another inning (the post below describes the reasons why I think this), but that didn't happen. The decisions ended up not really affecting the Braves for good or worse. It's just that when you play 12 innings someone has to lose.

Tom Martin, Antonio Alfonseca, and Kevin Gryboski each pitched scoreless innings. Chris Reitsma gave up the tying run in the 8th, and it did end up being an earned run despite Chipper's throwing error. Juan Cruz pitched a scoreless 11th, but allowed the winning run in the 12th.

Hitting stars: There weren't many. JD Drew was 1 for 2 with his 30th homer. He walked 4 times as well. He scored 2 of the Braves 3 runs.

Mismanagement

I really like Bobby Cox and I think he's one of the best managers in the game, but his decisions in the 7th inning will probably cost the team the game.

He pinch-ran Nick Green for Adam LaRoche instead of Dewayne Wise. Wise's value is completely speed and defense, this would have been the perfect time to use him. This decision probably wouldn't have mattered though, as Green got thrown out at the plate by a wide margin on a hard ground ball by Rafael Furcal. Wise would have as well.

But where Bobby's decision was costly was hitting Julio Franco for John Thomson. Thomson had only allowed 2 runs in 6 innings and had only thrown 77 pitches. Franco is the Braves best pinch hitter this year. Instead of actually pinch-hitting, he pinch-bunted. Why take Thomson who was throwing a fine ballgame if he could have done the same thing? Now, the Braves set-up men will have to hold them. Franco is still in the game, but the Braves lost Thomson, LaRoche, and Green. Montreal says"thank you very much". Tom Martin is probably a bit easier to score off of than John Thomson.

Atlanta Braves 9, Montreal Expos 0

Russ Ortiz pitched his third career shutout, a three hitter, as the Braves routed the Expos 9-0. Ortiz (14-7) carried a perfect game into the 6th inning, retiring the first 15 batters before the Expos got 2 hits in the 6th. Ortiz is now 5-0 on the season against Montreal. He had a 1.47 ERA entering the game against them, and it actually will go down. I'm not sure if that's a good thing though, to have 5 of his 14 wins against one team. But, I guess that's the unbalanced schedule for you.

Overall in this game Ortiz pitched 9 innings, allowing no runs on 3 hits, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts.

The Braves scored 8 of their runs in the first 3 innings against John Patterson, (6 of the runs were charged to Patterson) including 5 in the 3rd knocking him out of the game. Another easy win. The Braves could cruise through the rest of the game, although the Montreal bullpen did a good job allowing them to one run after the 3rd. The Braves outscored the Expos anyway 1-0 through the rest of the game.

Hitting Stars: Andruw Jones was 2 for 5 with a grand slam (his 24th homer) and 4 RBI. Adam LaRoche was 3 for 5. Johnny Estrada was 2 for 4. Every Braves starter had a hit except for Marcus Giles, and that's including the pitcher Ortiz (that sounds like yesterday!).

Game notes: Johnny Estrada was in Montreal and played despite the fact that his wife could give birth at any minute.

Atlanta has shut out Montreal 4 times this season.

Atlanta Braves 7, Montreal Expos 1

For the second straight start, Paul Byrd put on a show. He pitched 8 innings, allowing only one run on 4 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. He had a shutout going into the 8th, but he seemed to tire. Juan Cruz pitched a scoreless 9th to finish the game.

In what seems to be a trend, this game wasn't really that close once the Braves got on the scoreboard. They scored 3 runs in the 3rd and 4th inning, and added 4 more in the 7th. However, the Braves just missed extending their impressive streak of consecutive games with 10 hits to 13-they finished with 9 hits.

Hitting stars: Eli Marrero only had one hit, but it was a long home run to center field for his 9th homer. Rafael Furcal and Marcus Giles were both 2 for 5. Every Braves starter had a hit except for Eddie Perez, and that's including the pitcher Byrd.

Russ Ortiz is slated to pitch tonight against John Patterson. Patterson was listed for last night, but obviously he didn't pitch as Scott Downs started.

Post All-Star Break stats-pitching

Ditto...link in the title.

More notables:

Jaret Wright is 8-1 with a 2.55 ERA.

Mike Hampton is 7-1 with a 3.95 ERA.

John Thomson is 4-1 with a 3.05 ERA.

John Smoltz has no decisions (not only since the all-star break, but the whole year...that's a good thing for a closer) with 19 saves and a 1.63 ERA.

Juan Cruz is 2-1 with a 1.29 ERA.

Chris Reitsma is 3-1, with a save, 13 holds, and a 2.53 ERA.


With both the hitting and pitching stats that good, it's no wonder that the Braves are 33-12 since the break.

Post All-Star Break stats-hitting

This title, like nearly all of them, provides a link.

Notably:

Chipper Jones is hitting .310/.396/.606 with 13 homers and 39 RBI.

Rafael Furcal: .314/.377/.416.

JD Drew: .299/.393/.494 with 8 homers and 26 RBI.

Andruw Jones: .296/.374/.487 with 7 homers and 23 RBI.

Johnny Estrada: .331/.407/.488 with 4 homers and 19 RBI.

Charles Thomas: .298/.385/.368.

Julio Franco: .360/.402/.465.

Eli Marrero: .349/.421/.554.

Wow.

Atlanta Braves 7, Philadelphia Phillies 2

The Braves completed the 2 game sweep of the Phillies. They scored 5 times in the first 4 innings, cruising to the win. It wasn't very close even as the Phillies scored 2 in the 2nd inning when the Braves answered with 2 more runs over the next two innings.

Hitting Stars: Chipper Jones went 2 for 3 with his 26th homer and he had 3 more RBI in his quest for another year with 100 RBI (he now has 76). Andruw Jones hit his 23rd homer. Marcus Giles and Adam LaRoche added 3 hits. The Braves have had 10 hits for 12 consecutive games now. Quite impressive.

Jaret Wright picked up his 14th win of the season with yet another fine outing. He pitched 6 innings then left after his back apparently tightened up. I think his being taken out of the game was precautionary. He allowed 2 runs on 8 hits, no walks, and 5 strikeouts. Antonio Alfonseca, Chris Reitsma, and Kevin Gryboski eached pitched a scoreless inning to finish the game.

The Braves now travel to Montreal to play after an off-day tomorrow. Paul Byrd is scheduled to pitch Friday against John Patterson, but I don't know if he'll be skipped over for Russ Ortiz or not. The way Ortiz has pitched lately, he probably needs the extra day of rest.

Roster expansion

The roster limit expands to 40 men today. This article explains the Braves moves: what they have done and likely will do. I don't understand the procedures very well, so click on the link in the title to find out better.

Atlanta Braves 5, Philadelphia Phillies 3

Mike Hampton (11-9) pitched a fine ballgame, throwing 8 innings of 2 hit ball. He allowed one earned run on a solo home run by Mike Lieberthal, walked one, but only struck out one. I suppose that when you only allow 2 hits though, you can get away with that.

The game was 1-1 into the 6th inning, when Andruw Jones hit what appeared to be a routine flyball that ended up being a 2 run homer (his 22nd). Citizens Bank Park's short dimensions and the wind likely played a part in that. The Braves added a couple of more runs and hung on when John Smoltz made a 4 run lead interesing in the 9th inning. But the Braves hung on to a 5-3 win.

Hitting stars: Andruw Jones had just one hit, but that homer was the difference in the game. Eli Marrero was 3 for 4 and Julio Franco was 2 for 5.

Game Notes: Roman Colon was optioned to Greenville and DeWayne Wise was recalled from Richmond. This was because of the deadline to set the rosters before September, and the Braves now have 14 position players and 11 pitchers.

Jaret Wright will oppose Vicente Padilla in what would appear to be a pitcher's duel, but in Citizens Bank Park who knows. Padilla always pitches well against the Braves though.