ESPN.com – MLB – Recap – Astros at Braves – 07/30/2003

It seems to me that the Braves leave a lot of runners on base. Tonight, it was 12 runners, as the Braves had eight hits, seven walks, and only three runs. One of those walks, but none of the hits, was by Marcus Giles. Pretty much everybody did something, but they just couldn’t get anything together for a rally. Their only extra-base hit was a leadoff double by Julio Franco.

Horacio Ramirez put the Braves in a big hole in the first, giving up four runs as the Astros batted around. His control was way off, with four walks and working behind much of the night. Really, he was lucky to get away with only five runs allowed in 5 1/3. Gryboski came on to let an inherited run score in the sixth.

The Braves had cut the lead back to two runs in the seventh, but Jason Marquis (in his second inning of work) allowed four hits and two runs. With Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner going for the Astros, the game was pretty much over.

The Phillies and Marlins both won, pulling to 10 1/2 and 11 1/2 back, respectively… No trade yet, and time running out. Seriously, are the Braves going to go to postseason with this bullpen? The AJC thinks there’s a trade in the works, but it sounds like a starter.