Talking Chop

Well that certainly was a quick series. Back-to-back 1-run ballgames certainly made the last 2 nights interesting. Here are the recaps in case you missed a game:

Game One

Game Two

The short series was anything but boring. In Game 1, the Braves had countless chances but continued to make bone-headed plays both at the plate and on the basepaths and it ultimately cost them the game. If the Braves don't hit into 3 double plays, Nate McLouth doesn't get stuck trying to score from 3rd and the Braves are able to hit a sacrifice fly or two, who knows how the game would've turned out. 

Game 2 was a bit different. Troy Glaus, Ike Davis and Jeff Francoeur all homered, but that was it in terms of offense until the 9th inning. If David Wright eats that ball, who knows if the Braves' inconsistent offense is able to push a run through. Thankfully, Wright threw the ball to 1st and the rest is history. Now onto the Good, Bad and Ugly from this quick 2-game series:

The Good:

1. Kris Medlen - Medlen has been awesome for the Braves in his 2 starts he's made for the injured Jair Jurrjens. His changeup was making Mets hitters look foolish and if it wasn't for a hanging slider to Ike Davis and a lucky hit from Jeff Francoeur, Meds would've gone much longer than the 6 1/3 innings he went on Tuesday night.

2. The Braves Bullpen - EOF, Moylan, Saito and Wagner combined for this fantastic stat line: 4.2IP  2H  0R  0BB/7K

3. Derek Lowe - DLowe pitched well on Monday and didn't deserve the loss. He went 7 innings for the first time all season and worked out of quite a few jams.

4. Nate McLouth - His numbers in the series weren't great (2-for-6, 1BB/2K), but Nasty Nate has been hitting much better and finally looks comfortable at the plate.

5. Eric Hinske - He didn't play in Tuesday's game, but the man continued to hurt baseballs on Monday night. 

6. The Defense - No memorable bone-headed plays to think of. No errors. And no lost balls in the OF. It seems like the Braves' fielding is getting a little better with each series.

The Bad:

1. To be honest, nothing. It seemed like everything this series was either Good or Ugly for the Braves. Brian McCann didn't have a great series, but got the Braves started in the 9th with a single off a tough lefty. Jason Heyward didn't play all that well, but still went 2-for-8. Same with Yunel Escobar and Chipper Jones.

The Ugly:

1. David Wright - He made the throwing error to score Brent Clevlen from 2nd and he went 0-for-8 with 4 strikeouts in the series. Yay for David Wright!

2. The Braves Offense in Game One - 3 double plays, Nate McLouth gets caught in a rundown while trying to score from 3rd and Brian McCann strikes out with the bases loaded in the 8th. The Braves were 1-for-7 with RISP and left 6 runners on bases. Pretty ugly.

3. Jeff Francoeur's HR in Game Two - I just remembered how much I don't like that guy. I thank him for his time in Atlanta, but he's a Met now and I still dislike him for his Tommy Hanson to the Yankees "joke" last year.

Series MVP:

The Braves Bullpen - They kept the Braves in the game Monday night and held the Mets down on Tuesday night until the Braves could score. If you take away Jo Jo Reyes and Jesse Chavez, I think the Braves have the best bullpen in the NL.

Series LVP:

David Wright - As mentioned in the Ugly column, Wright was pretty awful for the entire series.

GO BRAVES!