ESPN.com – MLB – Recap – Pirates at Braves – 06/07/2003

I guess it’s a good thing that the Braves’ injured players got a chance to rest up before last night’s game. Andruw, finally back in the lineup, his his 200th career homer. Chipper hit a two-run homer in the third. And Javy Lopez hit two homers, one in the sixth and one in the eighth, the latter giving the Braves the lead, and has 16 on the season. Sheffield, who hasn’t been hurt, also hit one out, his 17th. Oh, and as I say a lot, every Braves starting position player had at least one hit.

It has to be frustrating to be a Pirates fan, if in fact there are any Pirates fans left. I don’t know the exact percentages, but the team that has the most runs in an inning usually wins the game. A team that scores six runs in one inning… Well, I have to think that team almost always wins. Even if they don’t score any more runs, that’s usually enough to win.

The increasingly hopeless Shane Reynolds did allow six runs, without getting an out, in the fifth inning. Bobby blames the rain, Reynolds blames himself, and I agree with Reynolds. He’s a fastball pitcher who can’t break 88, what do you expect? The bullpen was solid and Boom-Boom Bobby picked up the win with a scoreless eighth. Smoltz got his 23rd save.