Results tagged ‘ Jeff Bennett ’
Braves lose by one again as April swoon continues
By Bud L. Ellis
budmansbravesbeat.com
Nationals 4, Braves 3
Top of the Order: The early-season stretch from hell
extended marched on unabated, the Braves building a 3-0 lead in the top of the
first, only to see the Nats peck away in sending Atlanta to its seventh loss in
the past eight games as the Braves put runners on second and third with no outs
in the ninth but could not score.
The Good: Gonna take some digging to find some positives out
of losing to the woeful Nats for the second consecutive night. Brian McCann and
a new contact lens for his problematic left eye returned to the lineup, Mac walking
twice. The Bravos started fast, Casey Kotchman’s two-out double in the top of
the first scoring a run. Kotchman finished 2-for-4. Jeff Francoeur drove in the
second run with a hustle infield single, a third run scoring on an error on
Frenchy’s hit. Chipper Jones went 2-for-3 with a walk. Jordan Schafer doubled
twice. Peter Moylan fired a scoreless seventh inning. Mike Gonzalez struck out
two in pitching around a walk in the eighth.
The Bad: Oh, Matt Diaz, how we love ya as a hitter and how we
cringe whenever a low line drive heads your way. Matty lost a ball in the
lights in the sixth, letting it slice past him and all the way to the wall to
plate the tying run (Diaz lost a similar ball in the ninth inning of the home
opener). Oh, Jeff Bennett, how we love ya when that sinker is sinking and how
we cringe when you leave pitches up in the zone. Bennett gave up the go-ahead
single in the sixth, but battled back to leave a runner at third. The defense
was shoddy: Jones booted a ball in the sixth that led to a run. McCann sailed a
throw into center field on a stolen-base attempt in the eighth. The Braves were
horrible on the bases. Schafer couldn’t make up his mind if he should stretch a
double into a triple, decided to go back to second, and was tagged out. In the
seventh, with Jones at the plate, Martin Prado tried to move to third on a
bounced pitch at the plate, but was thrown out (ouch! It’s only the defending
NL BATTING CHAMPION AT THE PLATE) to end the inning with the Braves trailing by
one. In the ninth, the Braves put runners on second and third with no outs, but
could not get the fly ball needed to tie the game. Kenshin Kawakami couldn’t
hold the early advantage, giving up four runs (two earned) on seven hits in
five-plus innings, walking three and striking out two. Off the field, Garret
Anderson didn’t start yet again and may be heading to the disabled list. Put him on the shelf until he’s ready and get somebody up here who is able to play.
View from the Sports Garage: Once upon a time, the Braves
were four games above .500, tied for first place in the NL East, and looked
every bit like a team destined to play in October. Then the cold reality of the
second week of the season arrived like an Arctic cold front, and the Braves
have been frozen in their tracks ever since. You look at a road trip through Pittsburgh, Washington,
and Cincinnati,
and if you’re serious about reaching the postseason, these are the road trips
where at worst you go 6-3. The Braves have responded by losing four of their
first five on this three-city swing, this after losing three straight at home
to the Marlins. Ugh. Not exactly the type of statement you want to make after
starting the season 5-1. And yes, folks, that’s three one-run losses on this
trip. Kinda sounds like last season, doesn’t it, losing by the slimmest of
margins away from home. Ugh indeed.
On deck
Braves at Nationals
7 p.m. today, Nationals
Park
The Skinny: So I’ll have the clicker working big-time
tonight as I toggle between the Bravos and Game 2 of the Hawks/Heat series (Go
Hawks!) at the Highlight Factory! For the Bravos, it’s Jair Jurrjens toeing the
slab, and JJJ comes off a super effort for which he deserved a far better fate.
Friday in Pittsburgh, Jurrjens (2-1, 2.04 ERA) gave up one run on four hits in
6 2/3 innings, walking two and striking out seven in a game the Braves lost
1-0. For the Nationals, lefty John Lannan (0-2, 6.46 ERA) pitched well his last
time out, giving up just one run in 6 1/3 innings Friday in a no-decision
against the Nationals. The Braves tagged Lannan for nine hits and four earned
runs April 11. With the way this road trip’s unfolded so far, the Braves need a
repeat of their smacking around of Lannan to try and generate some momentum
heading into Cincy this weekend.
–30–
Too early to worry about Braves … or is it?
By Bud L. Ellis
budmansbravesbeat.com
ATLANTA — Three days of Fish, and the Atlanta Braves suddenly stink?
Maybe it’s not as bad as it seems. But then again, this is a team that suddenly showed a disturbing inability to do the little things it did so well in winning five of its first six games to open 2009.
Those who labeled the Braves’ three-game set with Florida as a showdown in the NL East are misguided. Nothing can be decided in the third series of the season. It’s way too early to worry about losing three games in a row at home.
With that said, it’s not too early to worry about some of the things we saw the past three days at Turner Field:
– Shoddy defense: The Braves simply didn’t make the plays they should against the Marlins, and poor defense will more often than not send you into the L column. Case-in-point: While Kelly Johnson didn’t serve up that fat three-run homer to Cody Ross yesterday, his inability to catch Yunel Escobar’s feed for a double play set up Ross’ big blast, putting the Braves in a deep 3-0 hole.
– Early deficits: The starting pitching, so good through the first six games, wasn’t horrid in this series. But it wasn’t crisp. Javier Vazquez, Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami had to work far too hard in the early innings, each unable to give the already gassed Braves’ bullpen a break. Speaking of which …
– Relief? Somebody? Anybody?: Peter Moylan’s inability to throw strikes, Blaine Boyer’s inability to get through an inning … it’s a disturbing trend we’re starting to see. Jorge Campillo going on the disabled list with arm fatigue (thanks, World Baseball Classic) is just the first move toward re-energizing the bullpen. James Parr had a great spring, and hopefully Jeff Bennett is finding his comfort zone. But with Jo-Jo Reyes coming up to start Saturday in Pittsburgh, somebody’s leaving the bullpen — most likely Boyer, who is out of options but at this moment, has exhausted Bobby Cox’s patience.
The good news in all of this is the Braves are embarking on a road trip where it’s feasible they can win series. Going to Pittsburgh, Washington and Cincinnati isn’t exactly like going to Wrigley, Fenway or Chavez Ravine. But if the Braves allow 21 runs in any of those series, as they did against the Marlins, they’ll be hard-pressed to win two out of three at any stop on the trip.
–30–
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