Atlanta Braves vs. Florida Marlins – Box Score – May 27, 2010 – ESPN.
Everybody hits! Zombie Chipper went 2-4 with two walks; the first of the latter gave him the franchise career record. Yunel forged his way to the Mendoza Line with a 2-3, two-walk day, and scored two runs. Prado, who had been slumping, had three hits, and Melky continued his good work of late with two. The Braves had fourteen hits in all and won going away.
Each team scored one run in the first, the Braves’ coming on a triple by Heyward and a double by Chipper. The Braves couldn’t get anything going for the next two innings, but had a two-out rally in the fourth as a torrential downpour began, the big blow being a bouncer down the third-base line by Ross that turned into a double, scoring Yunel from first. The rain just got worse, and the umpires refused to stop the game even though Tim Hudson could hardly grip the baseball in the bottom of the inning; the Marlins scored one run but left the bases loaded. The umpires then finally stopped the game.
After play resumed, Prado singled in Yunel to make it 4-2 in the sixth, then Yunel doubled in Melky in the seventh to make it 5-3. O’Flaherty was ineffective and allowed a run in the seventh, but Saito came in and struck out two to end the Marlins’ last serious threat. The Braves put the game away with three runs in the eighth, but Bobby still brought in Wagner to pitch the ninth with a five-run lead. Sigh. Moylan picked up the win with an inning of relief in the fifth.
Back home to face the Pirates!
I’m also puzzled by Bobby’s use of Wagner and Saito. Especially considering their ages.
I can’t believe that, after a nine game losing streak, the division leader only has one more win than the Braves. It’s not even June yet. Absolutely crazy.
I think it’s just been so long (in general, like all of last year) since we’ve scored 7th-9th inning runs with a lead that Bobby couldn’t adjust.
I want to say Chavez was the only other option, too, though I could be wrong. Chavez definitely wasn’t the right choice for the two on, one already in that O’Flaherty left in the 7th. 9th would have been OK, but I could see him melting down also.
Oh, I guess Cristhian Martinez is in there as well.
Who could ever believe that the Phillies would go scoreless in 46 of their last 47 innings? Let’s hope they don’t get hot before they play the Braves.
Edit: Nm, read the box score wrong.
The runs scored in the eighth. Wagner was not up until the top of the ninth.
Yea I just caught that.
1.5 out of first place! Funny how fast things can turn around.
We’re playing good baseball despite the fact key players are underperforming. If Chipper, McCann, and Escobar start approaching their career averages, we’ll be pretty tough to beat.
I’ve given up understanding Bobby’s bullpen management, but yeah, it sure would be nice to have Wagner pitch in a close game the Braves are losing than with a 5-run lead in the 9th.
It is my sincere hope, too, that Escobar will pick it up now.
Team seems to have finally clicked. We’ll see if Zombie Chipper and Yunel can sustain it.
It’s nice when everyone is complaining about using the closer with a big lead. Usually means the night went well. Weren’t doing much of that during the nine game losing streak.
They’re 16-8 this month with 4 home games remaining, against the Bucs & suddenly punchless Phils.
7-3, 8-3 against the Marlins. I take it. Let’s see what Lowe can do tonight. His ERA is 3.50 in his past four games.
I liked that he used Moylan in the fifth, with Hanley, Cantu, and Uggla batting. Because of the rain delay and the close score, you had to figure the good arms would pitch. So when the Marlins brought up their all-RHB middle of the lineup, it was Moylan time. Good move.
As for using Wagner — hey, it was already a five-hour game at the end of a week-long road trip with the charter waiting at the airport. Here’s the ball, Billy — strike these mf’ers out so we can go home.
Finally playing close to our potential. If the zombie and Escobar get going, watch out. Hell even Melky is showing signs of EEG activity.
According to Joe Simpson Yunel stopped him in the clubhouse before yesterday’s game, winked at him and said “on the way back.”
So, there’s that, maybe.
Meyer got DFA’ed after the game, and apparently Joe West is going to be fined/suspended.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AoXzZchuPkb7waFb9Rx6AGB.zdEF?slug=jp-west052710
@19, not just DFA’ed, DFA’ed to make room for none other than Kim Jong Il.
just watching Esco the last few nights, somehow, it seems as if his attitude has changed for the better. He doesnt seem to get rattled by errors and by his hitting right now. Joe even said he apologized to the ump in between innings for his reaction to a strike call. Hopefully, the kid is growing up and maturing
@19
Jeff Passan deserves a Pulitzer just for the Joe West = Lady Gaga analogy. I’ll never not think that again.
per DOB….good quotes
Hudson on trying to get back into the game after the rain delay:
“I knew it was kind of a long shot but I was like ‘man,’” Hudson said. “I had hot-packs on sitting in here, I played catch once or twice and the hitting cages with (Peter) Moylan. I went out there and talked to the groundscrew and they said it might be about 10:15. I kinda lied and told everybody in the locker room they was pulling the tarp, get them ready to play. I went out there like I was going to start getting loose again and Bobby came out like, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ I was like, ‘I’m getting ready to pitch.’ He’s like, ‘the hell you are.’ But it was best. These antique parts I’m sporting might have blown out on me.”
The good: Phillies are struggling.
The bad: Mets are winning. It’s a lot more fun to read Mets Blog when the Mets lose.
Got to see Gwinnett play my hometown Louisville Bats last night. Jo-Jo Reyes vs. Aroldis Chapman – two lefties on opposite ends of the spectrum. My first inclination that the stadium’s radar gun postings were just a bit inflated was when they clocked one of Chapman’s fastballs (which are very fast, no doubt) at 103.
Jo-Jo was bad, showing spotty control and giving up a 3-run bomb that truely left the park. Schafer (like most of the AAA players) looked overmatched by Chapman’s belt-high gas. Most of them seemed more than happy to go up and take hoping for a walk. Freeman had some good swings.
Lastly, I got to see Kimbrel pitch. He looked very impressive with a compact motion and a tight slider. Gave up a run, but the rbi came on a bloop after a passed ball where the catcher gave absolutely no effort whatsoever to stop the ball.
This is quite literally the worst-reasoned argument I think I’ve ever read.
@24,26: I am not afraid of the Mets at all. The Phillies are obviously very scary. They will get hot, and I just hope the Braves can keep up. The Marlins are a concern. They aren’t terribly far removed from the Braves in talent. A few good breaks, and they could push us out.
I really have no concern that the Mets will make the playoffs. They’re pretty solidly the fourth best team in the division.
Pesky Esky almost back?
Let’s sweep the bucs
“That date should be circled. The Mets won, 3-2. And even though they lost their next two, the turnaround was under way.”
um…ok
@27, Replace Coghlan with Michael Stanton and his 17 HR, like, next week. Pretty easy to see how the Marlins could reprise their party-spoiler role.
@26 – obviously, you’ve never read any of Mike Silva’s stuff. He makes Bodley look like Euclid when it comes to specious reasoning.
The date April 20th should be circled. The Braves beat the Phillies, 4-3 in extra innings, to take a piece of the division lead. Even though they lost their next nine, the turnaround was under way.
Does this braves team feel any different yet to you?
off the wall wondering about Melky,
I know his lack of focus (partying?) has been cited as a potential problem. He has a solid 700 ops at an age which still allows viable chance for improvment. He obvioulsy needs to address conditioning (like, go all Matt Diaz on us). But, the horrid start was uncharacteristic (as is the current short really good streak).
I wonder if he doesn’t play as well when the team isn’t playing well. Presses, loses focus, whatever.
I have to say that I see the Phillies as the main threat also. The Marlins’ bullpen stinks and I don’t think that will change significantly. The Mets lineup isn’t much or any better than the Braves (depending on what happens with Esco and Chipper) and they don’t have the pitching depth.
This is always what happens with “analysts,” including players. They jump on the team that is hot at the moment and annoint them as the team to beat. And, then a week later, they fall off that bandwagon when the team begins to struggle.
BTW, there is only one team in baseball on pace for 100 wins (Tampa Bay) and a lot of teams on pace for mid to upper 80s. That probably won’t last but it suggests that, for all the complaints about competitive balance, there is a fair degree of parity in baseball.
capitol avenue clubs says our potential 1st pick at #35 will be, 1 of these 6
Austin Wilson
Brett Eibner
Dylan Covey
James Paxton
Anthony Ranaudo
Kyle Parker
Clemson Kyle Parker? 🙂
@34, while I very much agree with the sentiment, the unfortunate fact is that Melky is hitting worse than Frenchy (the benchmark by which all suck is measured). This is not the place for OJT. The team desperately needs a platoon partner for Hinske who can hit a little bit. I don’t know how what the solution is, but Cabrera ain’t it.
Well spike, to be fair, Melky is OPSing .750 in may, where as Frenchy is OPSing .358 in May…
Melky had a spectacularly crappy April from which he’s still recovering his numbers… Frenchy had an amazing first couple weeks of the season… but since April 17th he’s OPSing .427 (during that same stretch Melky’s OPS is at .697 though that’s been helped a lot by him having a pretty good couple of weeks recently).
Not that I’m saying Melky is the answer to anything
Say, speaking of the Mets, it seems like Pelfrey is making a quite a splash. Anyone thinks it’s real? His BaBIP is down, but not crazily so. He just seems like he has for the moment, figured it out. And he’s in the 5th year option of a major league contract. Someone is going to make a pile of money next season if he can keep this up.
“Kawakami, quite possibly the worst free agent acquisition in Atlanta Braves history, lost again Tuesday night, this time 6-4 to Florida.”
I mean, really?
http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2010/05/26/braves-kenshin-kawakami-now-on-pace-to-go-0-25/?cxntfid=blogs_jeff_schultz_blog
Game thread.