Okay, sometimes one player can beat you. The Dodger offense was all Adrian Beltre tonight. Beltre hit a double in the fourth to tie the game at one. He hit a homer in the ninth to tie the game at two. And he hit a homer in the eleventh to win it. The rest of the team combined for only four hits.
It was a bad night for the elite closers. Gagne looked to be the loser in the ninth after Adam LaRoche again singled home the go-ahead run. But Smoltz allowed the Beltre homer to tie it. Juan Cruz allowed the second homer and took the loss. Overshadowed somewhat was some great pitching by both Thomson and Lima. Thomson went seven and allowed only three hits, walking three, and striking out five.
Drew doubled in Giles for the Braves’ first run in the fourth. LaRoche and Chipper were the only Braves with more than one hit; the team had ten in all but walked only twice, which cost them.
The Marlins lost to stay 8 1/2 out. The Braves blew a chance to tie the Dodgers for the second-best record in the league, which looks likely to be big, determining who gets homefield in the first round of the playoffs… Hampton versus Jeff Weaver tomorrow afternoon in a Fox game.
Ok, this may be me just picking nits, but does anyone else feel annoyed when Jeff Torborg keeps calling Johnny Estrada the Brave’s “young catcher”
I mean sure he’s young compared to Julio, but he’s older than Andruw, Marcus, Furcal, LaRoche, & Thomas. (Other memebers in today’s starting lineup)
He could say inexperienced if that’s what he means; it wouldn’t be much more accurate, but it wouldn’t grate on my nerves as much.
But maybe I’m over sensitive.