Hey, an Atlanta Braves sighting! Trailing 3-1 headed into the bottom of the eighth, the Braves rallied to tie it. Then the Astros took the lead in the ninth, and they tied it again. And with two out in the tenth, Andruw hit an opposite-field homer to end the game. About time, too. Andruw was 2-5 for the night, breaking his deep slump.
Everybody got into the game in the process of scraping back into it. Furcal, who can’t throw, pinch-hit, and Giles, who can’t swing, pinch-ran. Wilson Betemit got the start and was 1-4, singling leading off the first for his first major league hit. He looked okay at shortstop, with the exception of a single that scored a run in the second when he and Garcia got their signals crossed on a makeable play. Chipper went 0-4 with three strikeouts, but drove in the tying run in the eighth with a walk.
Andruw’s heroics made up for a play he almost made in the ninth that looked like it might cost the Braves the game. He dove for a ball in deep right-center, snowconed it, but couldn’t hold on. Drew, for some reason, was running towards short center on the play instead of backing up; Andruw had to get up and retrieve the ball, but not in time to stop a triple. The next batter singled to make it 4-3.
Poor Horacio Ramirez still can’t get a win, but at least he didn’t get a loss. He couldn’t get Craig Biggio, who homered twice, but handled everyone else and again deserved better. Reitsma pitched well again; Smoltz didn’t, but got out of a jam. Base12 got the win.
The Marlins lost; the Phillies have taken an early lead on Arizona… Tomorrow a day game, Pettitte versus Ortiz.
Great Game. Andruw comes up big. Usually when he dives for that pitch on the outer half, the results aren’t as positive. He has always been streaky but I think that playing with the AAA guys has made this slump worse. He looks like he is trying to hit everything. Last month his OPB was terrific.
I agree with earlier posts that Betemit at least looks like a ball player.
Jesse Garcia! Nice piece of hitting on his triple and good hustle.
Has anyone noticed that the pitching pattern with LaRoche seems to be low inside below the hands? His swing is just the opposite of Drew’s with a lot of moving parts. The bat goes from horizontal to vertical to horizontal again for the swing. I like this kid and I think that he has some potential so I sure hope that he and TP are working on adjusting to that inside pitch.
The more that I watch J.D. Drew the more that I see what the fuss was about. He is a good ballplayer. I sure hope that he can give us 125 or so more games.
The one question I have after watching this game: Who gave D. Wise the shiner?
“Who gave D. Wise the shiner?”
AJ is the culprit. AJ and Wise had a collision in the outfield and AJ won. AJ kicked Wise in the face while catching the ball.
I feel much better now that Chipper’s back. The Braves have hung in there and stayed in contention with all the injuries. We certainly need Marcus and Furcal back and better pitching, but I suspect it will be a 3 way race with the Marlins and Phillies late into the summer with little chance for the losers to be wild cards. It should be fun.
I don’t know whether or not to be concerned about Smoltz. His performances have been mixed even with the new steady work schedule he’s on. You get used to Andruw making plays like the one he almost made last night, but it doesn’t always work out that way. At least he’s not giving up a home run per game anymore, but one never seems to know when the real John Smoltz is going to show up.
My first reaction when I looked up at the game broadcast on the TV at the bar and saw Betemit in the box: “WHHHAAAA’?????” I can understatnd sending Hessman back to the farm, but why Hollins? At least the big club is giving WB a shot to see if he responds to the challenge. What could it hurt at this point?
Anyone else think Andruw was too shifty in the batter’s box last night? I can’t remember him swaying that much in the past.
Thanks Steve. I was hoping for something a bit more dramatic, but that anwsers my “one question.”