Braves 8, Marlins 0

Atlanta Braves vs. Miami Marlins – Box Score – April 10, 2013 – ESPN

Win, win, win . . . .

Mike Minor wasn’t at his most efficient, struggling to command his pitches for much of the night, but he still managed to hold the Marlins scoreless in 5 2/3 innings of work, striking out four and walking just one. The offense exploded for a big inning, and that was more than enough to earn the win and complete the sweep against the truly pitiful Marlins.

The big inning came in the fifth, and it was really fun to watch. Jordan Schafer, starting in place of BJ Upton and batting eighth, got it going with a bunt single, then stole second on the next pitch and eventually came around to score on a single from Andrelton Simmons. A few batters later, with two on base, Evan Gattis unloaded on an inside pitch for one of those vintage-Gary-Sheffield laser-homers that appeared to still be rising as it sailed over the left-field wall. Then, Dan Uggla walked and Juan Francisco connected on his first mammo of the year, and the game was basically over. (They would tack on additional runs in the sixth and ninth.)

Jordan Shafer went 4-5, much to the surprise of anyone who’s seen him play baseball over the past few years. El Oso Blanco has three homers in 25 major-league plate appearances, for those keeping track. Meanwhile, Justin Upton did nothing — it was encouraging to see all those runs without any contribution from him. Cory Gearrin and Anthony Varvaro pitched very well in scoreless relief, but again: Marlins. Chip Caray remains completely incompetent.

Taking care of business against some bad teams has been nice to see, particularly with the cleanup hitter on the DL; Atlanta is now 8-1 and has a 1.5-game lead in the East. After tomorrow’s day off, the competition will get a bit stiffer, as the Braves will head to DC for their first series of the year against the Nationals. This is fun.

Author: Stu

Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I've been married since July 17, 2004 to my beautiful wife, who also doubles as my best friend. We have an almost-three-years-old Boston Terrier named Lucy who's also pretty awesome. My wife and I both graduated from Vanderbilt University in May of 2004. I graduated from Law School at the University of Georgia in May of 2007 and am now practicing in Nashville, Tennessee. I really, really love the Atlanta Braves.

83 thoughts on “Braves 8, Marlins 0”

  1. After years of watching him, I must ask: how in the hell does Brian Jordan have a job that involves public speaking? He’s a total fumblemouth.

  2. Where would we be without Justin and Evan?

    they had 5BB and only 5K? What’s wrong with the offense tonight?

  5. Would you have believed it If I told you before the season the Braves would be 8-1 with Heyward below .100 and Bupton just above .100?

  6. Beating up on crappy teams and average starters, I like this team. Can’t complain when your only loss is against Cliff Lee.

  11. At the moment, the Braves have an MLB-best 1.89 ERA & they’re MLB co-leaders in HRs (15).

    BTW, we play 16 more games vs. the Marlins, but we don’t see them again until July, which is just fine.

  13. I feel like we should acknowledge the great play of the Johnson/Francisco team, especially considering that two thirds of our vaunted outfield is off to a slow start. The Catcher and 3B platoons have really been outstanding.

  14. I know it is April, but this weekend is kinda big. It would be nice to send those guys a message.

  15. A. Simmons and E. Gattis are big leaguers. I LOVE Andrelton mimicking Chipper’s approach.

    C. Johnson is no Freddie, but he’s competent; and Francisco has been Juanderful.

    Weekend series could be sobering, however.

    Edit: what Smitty said.

  16. The Peach Clobbers have only allowed 18 runs, best in all of MLB. The next lowest is the Dodgers, at 22 runs allowed, but they’ve only played eight games so far this year, while the Braves have played nine. The 28 runs allowed by the Royals and Rangers seem to be the next best after the Braves, for a team that has played nine regular season games in 2013.

  19. Well, the Braves are on pace for 144 wins. That might be enough to avoid the play-in game.

  25. If Joe Simpson was for the Clobbers, then I pick the other name – even in defeat. #partisanship

  27. Dixie Sticks was the least worst. Thankfully nothing our TV broadcast does has any chance of gaining widespread acceptance.

  29. I can see it in baseball lore now:

    •Murderers’ Row
    •The Big Red Machine
    •The South Side Hitmen
    •Harvey’s Wallbangers
    •The Peach Clobbers

  30. It’s Elizabeth Moreau. I had to look up her last name.

    She is pretty good. Better than Beth Keener.

    There are lots of people good at their jobs that I can’t remember their names.

    The Braves have a catcher that has a nickname related to a Polar Bear. I have no idea who he is.

  31. For years, Chip would do his annoying controlled-excitement “WELL-HIT” call for anything in the air. Now Francisco nearly breaks the International Space Station, and all he can muster is “this one’s got a chance”?

  35. So C-Mart seems most likely to be sent down and/or traded. Varvarro has the most innings pitched out of the whole bullpen, and has been nothing but effective.

    DOB says in the AJC: “Adding Ayala gives the Braves a versatile reliever who can pitch in any role, from getting an out or two to working multiple innings.” Ummm…that’s C-Mart, people. Seems like the writing’s on the wall for him if they’re giving Ayala credit for filling a void that C-Mart’s filled with quality innings the last few years.

  36. Luis Ayala has been a good reliever in the past. He was quite good for some awful early Nats teams; he was also an early WBC casualty, losing an entire year after getting injured during one of the first Classics.

    I like Martinez a lot, but if the team has soured on him, I’m willing to assume they know something we don’t. They’ve put together some very good bullpens under McDowell.

  38. @37 Agreed. This is a real, real stretch, but maybe they are sending the Lisp down to stretch him out in case Teheran continues to struggle/ a starter gets injured?

    EDIT: Actually, I think they’ll treat Teheran like Minor and give him a lot of rope to get it right.

  39. He would have to clear waivers, but it would be a good idea.

    Teheran had one bad start. He was great in the spring. I don’t think the Braves are worried at this point.

  42. Teheran has made a total of five starts in the majors. He just needs time. He’s only a fifth starter and we’ll score a lot of runs this season no matter what. The only way he’ll figure out how to get major league batters out is to pitch every fifth day.

  43. As per espn Sweetspot TV, most defensive runs saved last season:
    1. Braves +55, Angels +46, Brewers +24, Twins +21, A’s +17. I am expecting the Braves to stay on top this year.

  44. C-Mart and Varvarro are both out of options. Gearrin isn’t, but he’s pitching well and is a tactical asset in a way the other two aren’t.

    Ayala bumps one of those guys. Who will it be? The line by DOB that basically whitewashes C-Mart’s past role in the bullpen makes it seem to me he already knows.

  45. I think the Lisp has been good for the braves but I also think he would be better served in the back of a rotation somewhere. If Beachy is still on track for a late June return it would take some unfortunate injuries for the Lisp to get a shot of starting in Atl.

  49. Should there be a poll?
    Success is definitely Murdock.
    Road Runner vs White Bear for B. A.
    Uggla vs McCann for Col. Smith
    Uptons or JH for Face?
    The blonde on MLB for the reporter?

  51. @50 DH’s are not needed. Just bat 8 and save some money and have another pitcher on roster. More offensive records with more at bats for position players.

  54. I assume JT gets skipped and we go into WAS with Hudson, Maholm and Medlen. Should be a great series.

  56. #54
    Why? If there’s ever a time to pitch Teheran vs Washington, it’s on April 12 while we’re ahead in the standings.

    These are, apparently, the mound matchups:

    Teheran vs Detwiler (7:05 on MLB Network)
    Hudson vs Strasburg (1:05)
    Maholm vs Gonzalez (1:35)

  58. Annnnnd

    ‏@ajcbraves
    Justin Upton (1.365) and Evan Gattis (1.266) have the NL’s top two OPS among players with at least 25 plate appearances.

  61. @50, and the obvious solution would be to get rid of interleague play, not add the DH to the NL.

  62. @59

    At what point does that way of thinking end? The teams that you are referring to there are the ones that had Chipper, McCann, Laroche, Francoeur, and Andruw as its core. We have no idea how the current version of ATL does against any specific type of pitcher. It’s unfair to compare the Uptons, Gattis, Simmons, CJohnson, and Fatjuan to any team that had Francoeur on it.

  67. Who on the Braves has trouble hitting lefties? Korben’s point, quite rightly, is that the 2013 Atlanta Braves roster looks nothing like even the 2011 starting lineup, much less something from 2009 or whatnot. Teams don’t have trouble hitting lefties. Players do. A team is simply the collection of its component players. If Justin Upton hits lefties better than Chipper Jones did, and BJ Upton hits lefties better than Micheal Bourne did, and Evan Gattis hits lefties better than Brian McCann does, then the 2013 Braves will not have similar issues to “hitting lefties” than previous versions of the team.

    It’s not a team based tendency.

  68. @56
    Nothing against Teheran, I just figured you go with your 1-4 starters on 4 days rest and only use the 5th starter when necessary.

  69. You’re right, of course; Francisco, Freeman, and McCann are the major lefties at this point and none is likely to be in the lineup against Gio. Still, pitchers who fit that basic profile — wild hard-throwing lefties — have just tortured us over the years. I insist on the right to continue hating them.

  70. Stu – You could at least go with the initials O.B. We would all know what you meant.

    Of course, that might predestine your child to a future career with very high medical malpractice premiums.

  71. I would limit no man’s natural right to irrational hatred of others Alex. Hate is the engine of civilization. Hate is what dragged us out of the oceans and down from the trees. Hate is the glue that binds. I commend your hatred of Gio Gonzalez and hope I do some measure of feeding it along and along.

  74. @68 I think Fredi has mentioned that he would try to stay with the rotation order regardless of rest, at least for now. I imagine they want to see Teheran as much as possible so they can try to figure out what they have with him at the ML level. It probably also doesn’t hurt to buy Hudson as much rest as possible.

  75. You need to know what you have out of Teheran before Beachy comes back, right?

    Speaking of injured players, what happens at catcher in 3 weeks?

  77. @61

    Unless two teams are either added or contracted, there’s no getting rid of interleague play now. Although maybe the current alignment does get us one step closer to 32 teams (my preferred solution — 8 four-team divisions).

  78. The four team divisions would contribute to more mediocre teams in the playoffs. I do not see how that can be a preferred solution.

  79. In three weeks Gerald Laird becomes a 3rd catcher and Reed Johnson gets traded (or Success! sent down.)

  80. Any divisional…umm…division carries with it the risk of a team with a lesser record making the playoffs. But getting rid of divisions altogether weakens rivalries, which helps drive interest in the sport. To me, the wild card is a bigger abomination than the winner of a mediocre division would be. Beat your three rivals, you get to move on. Simple. Not perfect, but simple.

  81. I’ve come to peace with the DH. Bring it on.

    I don’t particularly want to watch DH-Ball, but, I’m tired of there being 15 teams with a tangible advantage in the free agent market, having nothing to do with markets or profits or how well their businesses are run. They have an insurance policy on free agents written right into the rules of the game.

    Give me the DH, balance the schedule, and let’s see some fair competition.

  82. @81 I’m with you, JJ. I’ve fought it and fought it, and I do think AL baseball is less interesting because of it, but if it allows us to keep Brian McCann around for another six years while still using Gattis as a starter if he continues to deserve it… I can live with the DH.

    (Can’t believe I just said that.)

    And amen to a balanced schedule. Oh, for cryin’ out loud, Selig, just leave already!

  83. I have no problems with a DH. I get the arguments against, but I think they are overblown a bit. Watching a sacrifice bunt is *not* exciting. The extra pitching changes do add a marginal bit of strategy to the NL game, but they also wear out the bullpen.

    I would like to see it be uniform, either both have it or neither have it. Since there’s no way it’s going away might as well add it to the NL. Most importantly, we’d be able to play McCann and OsoBlanco at the same time. ;-)

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