The Braves got on the board first, plating runs on RBI doubles by Kelly Johnson and Garret Anderson, but, unfortunately, they were unable to put any other runs across. Javier Vazquez, after pitching six scoreless innings, finally gave up the lead in the 7th on an RBI double by the overly tatooed Ryan Roberts and pinch hit RBI single off the bat of Chris Young. After taking things into extra frames, the Diamondbacks came out victorious, putting the winning run across on an Eric Byrnes dribbler up the middle. Jeff Bennett took the loss for Atlanta, his second of the season.
David Ross and Justin Upton won't be sharing a beer any time soon, as Ross took exception to the way Upton flipped his bat after talking a walk, leading to a toothless bench clearing incident. Frankly, Ross has been outstanding for the Braves this season as Brian McCann's backup, so if he occasionally feels the need to teach a young player the right way to play the game, I'm all for it.
Despite the loss, it's worth noting that this was another quality start for Vazquez, and the bullpen, with the exception of Bennett, pitched spectacularly again, with Eric O'Flaherty pitching a scoreless 2/3 of an inning (seriously, who thought he'd be this good?), Rafael Soriano adding a scoreless inning, and Mike Gonzalez adding two more scoreless innings.
Yet, despite the positives, the Braves have lost 5 of 6 at the hands of a pair of less than stellar National League West teams, immediately after sweeping one of the better teams in the American League. The helter-skelter nature of the current Atlanta team is enough to drive a fan mad.
0 recs | 25 comments
" Eric O'Flaherty pitching a scoreless 2/3 of an inning (seriously, who thought he'd be this good?)"
I will be the first to admit I was bashing the shit out of the Braves for even looking at this guy, and not attempting to resign Will the real deal. But thats why they are there and I am here.
That a boy - May 31, 2009
That’s how I felt and feel too.
cbwilk - May 31, 2009
i have this theory that he got all his negative energy out in that horrible inning in ST. i guess he felt like if he could come back from that he could do just about anything.
Bravely going forward - May 31, 2009
This team is starting to develop that circling the drain feel that became so familiar to us fans the last few Junes. Replacing Schafer with Diaz was a good move, but unfortunately it was only for one game. The kid needs to go back down until he shows he can make contact on pitches in the strike zone and Diaz — like Infante before he got hurt — needs to play every day until he stops hitting. Was Bobby the only person who didn’t see that Vasquez was done after the 6th? As soon as I saw him bunt, I knew the game was going to be tied or worse in the bottom of the 7th and walked away from the TV to get a bite to eat.
redwards95 - May 31, 2009
I was hoping Ross would beat Upton's ass.
I love drama.
sdp - May 31, 2009
you should watch TNT. They know drama.
10-4 - May 31, 2009
If you’ve watched a lot of Upton’s at-bats, you’ll notice he’ll flip the bat or stop and watch his home runs after he hits them.
17843 - May 31, 2009
I’ve noticed. The kid is from my area, so I watch all the dumb stuff he and his brother do. I’d hope one of his teammates would take care of that nonsense, but apparently they won’t, so here’s to David for giving it a try.
cbwilk - May 31, 2009
You didn’t happen to catch him in high school did you/
17843 - May 31, 2009
Yeah, a couple times. I couldn’t pass up getting his autograph then. He was pretty freaking ridiculous. It was like watching a Major Leaguer play against T-ballers. His arm from shortstop was nuts too.
cbwilk - June 1, 2009
NewpoNews in the hizzy.
royhobbs - May 31, 2009
He’s a Chesapeake boy actually.
cbwilk - June 1, 2009
The thing that made it so ridiculous...
…was that it was a walk! Doesn’t he know…walks don’t mean nothing….
sddbaker - May 31, 2009
Seriously...
Ask FYF.
MichaelProcton - June 1, 2009
he’s not as bad as elijah dukes
Bravely going forward - May 31, 2009
I had a dream last night that I was hanging out with Bobby Cox. I kept it polite for a while, and then I just cut to the cheese and gave him what for. We argued for a while, but then he seemed like he understood and agreed. Javy doesn’t do the 7th. He just doesn’t. Don’t even attempt it. Maybe Bobby had the same dream. lol
Chief Noc-A-Homa - May 31, 2009
You know, all this time we’d had EOF now, I knew he was familiar to me, but I could never figure out where I’d seen him prior, and why I thought he was a good acquisition. And then it hit me, I saw him make some long relief for the Mariners when I went out to Safeco on the start of my park touring back in 2007. He came in after Miguel Batista imploded against the Yankees, and this is what he put up: 4.2 IP, 1 H, 3 K, 0 R, 44 strikes out of 60 pitches. I had a high opinion of him before I even knew who he was.
royhobbs - May 31, 2009
anyone see Corky Miller got DFA
bravesrbaseball - May 31, 2009
Can he play RF?
redwards95 - May 31, 2009
He can barely play Monopoly.
BullManUGA - May 31, 2009
nice one +1
bravesrbaseball - May 31, 2009
From the rotoworld entry when his contract was purchased...
MichaelProcton - June 1, 2009
LOL
Lizziebeth - June 1, 2009
Holy shit...
I can’t believe he was even on an ML roster.
MichaelProcton - June 1, 2009
Consider myself driven.
Madness was at least on a paved road. I now find myself on a dirt rutted path of frustration that hasn’t seen traffic since horse and buggy days.
NCChopper - May 31, 2009
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Talking Chop to post a comment.