Talking Chop

Refresh this post all night for an inning by inning recap of NLDS game two between the Atlanta Braves and the San Francisco Giants.

Top of the first
Tim Hudson and the Braves are in their Sunday red jerseys, and the Giants in their road gray. Andres Torres singles over the infield to center field to start the game. Torres off with the pitch might have shielded Brooks Conrad who bobbles the ground ball double play chance off the bat of Freddy Sanchez. Another error by Brooks, his sixth in the last seven games. Aubrey Huff swings and misses for the first out. With Buster Posey hitting, both runners try and steal, and Brian McCann guns down Torres at third for the second out. Buster Posey works a walk from Hudson, and on a very close pitch, Pat Burrell also works a walk to load the bases. Juan Uribe ground out to Omar Infante to end the threat, but Hudson threw 24 pitches this inning.

The rest of the game after the jump...

Bottom of the first
Infante fouls out behind first base for the first out against Giants' starter Jonathan Sanchez. Jason Heyward strikes out swinging. Derrek Lee works a walk, he has now walked all four times he has faced Sanchez in his career. Brian McCann works the count to 2-and-2, but strikes out looking on a nasty breaking pitch.

Top of the second
Mike Fontenot hits a high fly ball to right that kept carrying. Heyward drifted back battling the sun and got a glove on it near the top of the wall as he crashed into the wall. Fontenot ends up at third base with a triple, as Heyward stays on the ground for a while, then gets up and talks to the trainer and Bobby Cox for a long time before they finally deem him fit enough to continue. He may have hit his head against the wall, and in the heat and sunshine he may have been woozy. Cody Ross pops up to short right field, and with Heyward not at 100%, Conrad tries to make the over the shoulder catch and drops the ball for his second error in as many innings; Fontenot scores from third. Sanchez tries to lay down a sat bunt, but Hudson makes a diving catch for the first out. Torres ground to second, but with the runner going the Braves can only get one out at first. Sanchez walks to put runners at first and second, but Burrell grounds out sharply to Lee to end the threat. Hudson has already thrown 40 pitches through two innings. Giants 1, Braves 0

Bottom of the second
Matt Diaz works the count full, but flies out to right field. Alex Gonzalez strikes out swinging on a ball in the dirt, and Conrad flies out to right center field for the third out. Sanchez at 36 pitches.

Top of the third
Posey hits a come-backer that goes off of Hudson's glove for an infield single. Burrell strikes out swinging on a high and inside fastball. Uribe ends the threat by grounding into a 5-4-3 double play. Hudson needed that for an easy inning, he's now at 52 pitches -- a much more economical inning.

Bottom of the third
Rick Ankiel strikes out on a pitch low and outside. Hudson also waves wildly on a pitch in the dirt for another Braves strikeout. Infante grounds out to the third baseman to end the frame.

Top of the fourth
Fontenot grounds out to D-Lee unassisted. Gonzo makes a terrific sliding stop on a play up the middle, whirls and throws to first to retire Cody Ross. Sanchez strikes out swinging to end another easy frame for Huddy (61 pitches).

Bottom of the fourth
Heyward flies out to left field on the first pitch. D-Lee pops up to the shortstop, and McCann strikes out swinging on a ball in the dirt.

Top of the fifth
Torres grounds out to second, Sanchez flies out to the center fielder, and Hudson gets Huff at first unassisted. Hudson is cruising now, and has been economical with his pitches the last few innings, currently at 71 pitches.

Bottom of the fifth
Diaz drives a ball the opposite way just shy of the warning track for the first out. Gonzalez strikes out swinging on a high fastball, and home plate umpire Paul Emmel rings up Conrad on a check swing without appealing to first base. the eighth strikeout for Sanchez.

Top of the sixth
Posey slaps a single just past the glove of a diving Infante at third. Burrell flies out to Heyward in right, and Uribe flies out to Diaz in left. Lee knocks the ball down at first, and recovers in time to flip to Hudson for the final out. Hudson at 85 pitches.

Bottom of the sixth
Rick Ankiel flies out just shy of the warning track in right field. Hudson breaks up the no-hitter with an opposite field single just in front of the right fielder. Infante strikes out swinging; another Braves hitter to fan on a ball in the dirt. And just like that, Heyward swings at strike three ... in the dirt.

Top of the seventh
Ross gets jammed and pops up to Hudson just off the mound. Sanchez strikes out, but Hudson walks Torres after some questionable check swing calls while throwing his 102nd pitch. With Sanchez hitting, Hudson throws to first a half dozen times, but Torres still steals second on a close play. The stolen base doesn't matter as Hudson rallies to strike out Sanchez. At 106 pitches, this will likely be all for Hudson.

Bottom o f the seventh
D-Lee works a full count, but strikes out on a ball that was almost in the dirt. McCann also works a full count, but grounds out to second. Diaz grounds out to third on the 100th pitch from Sanchez.

Top of the eighth
Everyday Jonny Venters on to pitch for the Braves, he's appeared in every NLDS game. Huff singles up the middle just past a diving Conrad, foiling the lefty-lefty match-up. The Braves finally retire Posey in this game with a three-pitch strikeout. Nate Schierholtz, who took over defensively a couple of innings ago, allows another lefty hitter to single against him. Venters then strikes out another righty, Uribe, swing at a slider in the dirt. Venters finally gets the better of a lefty batter as Fontenot waves at a nasty slider with a full count.

Bottom of the eighth
Sanchez is back out there to start the eighth. Gonzalez leads off with a solid single the other way past the leaping try from the second baseman Sanchez. Conrad attempts to bunt the runner over, but on a high fastball he pops it up for the first out. The right-handed hitter Troy Glaus comes on to pinch hit for Ankiel, and that prompts Bruce Bochy to make a pitching change and bring in the left-handed reliever Sergio Romo. Bobby Cox counters that move with pinch hitter Eric HInske. That moves works to perfection as Hinske hits a go-ahead two-run home run. WOW! Melky Cabrera pinch-hits for the pitcher and slices one down the left field line, but Ross makes a nice running catch for the out. Infante fouls out to the catcher, but Hinske does the damage. Giants 1, Braves 2

Top of the ninth
Craig Kimbrel on to try and close it out for the Braves. Melky stays in to play left field, Nate McLouth takes over in center field. Conrad calls off D-Lee to get Ross on an infield pop-up. Travis Ishikawa pinch hits and works a walk. Kimbrel bounces back and gets Torres looking on a backup slider for strike three. Sanchez singles back up through the middle over the pitchers mound. Bobby makes another call to the bullpen to bring on Michael Dunn for the lefty - lefty match-up against Huff. Aubrey comes through with a one-strike single to right that scores the runner from second on a bad throw to the plate from Heyward, tying the game. McCann comes up the first base line to get the throw and trips over a bat. He was checked out by the trainers and stays in the game. Cox goes to the bullpen again for Peter Moylan. Posey hits a ground ball that goes through legs of Brooks Conrad and scores the runner from second to give the Giants the lead. Conrad's third error of the game. Cox makes another pitching change, bringing on Kyle Farnsworth, who strikes out Schierholtz to end the inning. Giants 3, Braves 2

Bottom of the ninth
Giants closer Brian Wilson on to close the game. Heyward strikes out looking at a pitch about six inches off the outside corner of the plate. That's the seventh strikeout for Heyward in this series. Lee pops up to shallow center field for the second out. McCann keeps the inning alive with a single off the glove of a diving Sanchez. David Ross comes on to pinch-run for McCann. McLouth grounds out to second to end the game.