April 29, 2011
Eulogio De La Cruz vs. Brandon Beachy
This team seems to win in spite of itself. Despite four double plays and eleven runners stranded, Atlanta takes the opener of this homestand, 6-3. Nice to get win, but two players went down with injuries. During an RBI double in the sixth, Chipper Jones slowed up and was removed to open the seventh. And during that inning, Peter Moylan was removed after he felt something during a pitch.
The Cards took the initial lead when David Freese homered off Brandon Beach in the second. An RBI double from David Ross tied it in the fourth, though Jones was thrown out at the plate - the first of two runners thrown out at the plate for the Braves. In the sixth, the Braves pulled forward. A trio of singles by Freddie Freeman, Dan Uggla, and Alex Gonzalez loaded them. Beachy, who bunted into a double play earlier, took three straight pitches and sat down. Martin Prado singled in a pair to put the Braves up 3-1. After a flyball got Gonzalez to third, he scored on a balk and with two outs, Prado scored on Jones's double. Nate McLouth, who had walked, was thrown out at the plate.
An awful seventh followed for Beachy and the pen. The former gave up two hits and was removed for George Sherrill, whose first pitch was ripped for an RBI single. After a wild pitch, a swinging bunt led to an out without a run scoring. Sherrill than loaded on a walk before Moylan came in and after a groundout that scored a run to make it 5-3, Scott Linebrink got the call after Moylan's injury. Facing Albert Pujols, the decision was easy. Intentional pass. Matt Holliday was struck out to end the threat.
Atlanta scored again in the bottom half and Jonny Venters K'd the side in the 8th and Kimbrel worked a quiet ninth for the save.
6-3 WIN (15-12)
W - B. Beachy (2-3)
L - E. De La Cruz (0-3)
SV - C. Kimbrel (7)
April 30, 2011
MRIs have been ordered for Jones and Moylan. No word yet on their diagnosis.
Kyle Lohse vs. Tim Hudson
What a weak effort for Atlanta as they fall 4-2. As usual, let's start with the negative for this offense. 12 runners left on, one caught stealing on a busted hit-and-run, two doubles play hit into by the leadoff hitter.
Just sad. An 0 for 4 day as Jason Heyward down to .183. Freddie Freeman is down to .237.
Despite eight great innings from Tim Hudson, the Braves couldn't muster any offense against Kyle Lohse and the brigade of six relievers who replaced him after he left with an injury in the third. Hudson went eight and gave up four hits. One of the three runs was unearned and he walked one while striking out five. The bullpen couldn't put a scoreless inning as Scott Linebrink put two runners on before Eric O'Flaherty gave up a single to score one of them. He got a double play, but the damage was done.
4-2 LOSS (15-13)
W - F. Salas (1-1)
L - T. Hudson (3-2)
SV - J. Motte (6)
May 1, 2011
Some news from April. Nate McLouth was named Player of the Month. After hitting .190 over 242 AB last season, McLouth has gotten off a torrid start to 2011. Hitting .347 with 7 HR and 19 RBI, McLouth has taken over the number three spot in the lineup. He also leads the NL with a 1.092 OPS and 63 TB.
Elsewhere, 25 year-old Yohan Flande was named International League Pitcher of the Month. In four starts, he won them all. He struck out 17 to 11 walks, put up a 1.91 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP, and pitched into the seventh inning in each game.
Some good, bad, and okay news on the injury front. Chipper Jones has knee tenditis and will miss two weeks after a trip to the DL. He's hitting .259 with 1 HR and 11 RBI on the year. Peter Moylan was a sore hand and is day-to-day for about a week. He will be handled carefully and won't be used over the next week unless needed. On the farm, OF Ernesto Mejia broke a bone in his elbow and will miss around four months of action. He was hitting .200 for Gwinnett. Benino Pruneda, a reliever, will miss the remainder of the season with a torn labrum. He had pitched in 12 games for Mississippi and aside from a bad ERA, he was doing pretty well.
Joe Mather, who was hitting .322 for Gwinnett with five HR and 13 RBI, was called up to replace Jones on the roster.
P.J. Walters vs. Derek Lowe
Derek Lowe goes eight strong and the Braves do just enough to pull away with a 5-2 win. Lowe ran into an occasional bad pitch, often to Matt Holliday. He hit his first homer of the year in the fifth and drove in Albert Pujols with a single in the seventh. Outside of that, Lowe breezed through most innings. He only threw 86 pitches, allowed five hits and walked no one. He also induced three double plays and faced just two over the minimum
Nate McLouth, fresh off NL Player of the Month honors, belted his eighth homer in the fifth and was on three times. Martin Prado drove in a pair while Jason Heyward and David Ross each picked up ribbies. Eric Hinske had two hits and scored twice.
Craig Kimbrel worked a perfect ninth for his 8th save in as many chances.
5-2 WIN (16-13)
W - D. Lowe (2-3)
L - P. Walters (2-1)
SV - C. Kimbrel (8)
