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VOTE PRADO - All Star Game 2nd Baseman.
Another night, another complete game played by the Atlanta Braves.
Kris Medlen was on the mound Saturday night and pitched pretty well despite not having full control of his pitches at times. It looked like it could be a long night in the first inning after he walked the first 2 batters, but then retired the Pirates 3-4-5 hitters to get out of a big jam. It seemed like the Pirates were inches away from breaking through all night, but besides an odd 2-run triple from Pirates pitcher Brian Burres, Medlen was able to keep them under control. Meds has been great in Jurrjen's place in the rotation and he'll put pressure on the front office to make a decision once JJ comes back.
The Braves got on the board early in the 1st inning when Jason Heyward homered for the 10th time this season. Off the bat it looked like the ball would go 10 or 15 rows back into the right-center field stands, but it just barely cleared the wall. But a 380 foot HR is just as good as a 500 foot HR and it put the Braves up 1-0.
The Pirates scored in the 3rd on a HR from Rickie Weeks Andrew McCutchen, who is without a doubt a superstar in the making. As mentioned above, the Pirates actually took the lead in the 4th inning when pitcher Brian Burres hit a 2-run triple to the centerfield wall. The 2 runs would've scored anyway, but it should be noted that Nate McLouth took a terrible route to the ball and failed to hold Burres to a single. Fortunately for the Braves, that would be all the scoring the Pirates would do.
Troy Glaus came up huge in the 5th with a game-tying 2-run double into LF. After struggling so much in April, Glaus was fantastic in the month of May. I'm guessing we'll see a mixture of the April and May Troy Glaus in June, but I'll take it. The Braves scored again in the 6th when Martin Prado drove in David Ross with a deep sac-fly to RF. The Bravos led 4-3 after 6 innings.
Marteeeeen Prado, who should definitely be representing the NL at the All Star Game in July, came up with a huge 2-run double to the left-center field gap that scored Melky Cabrera and Eric Hinske without a throw. That hit put the Braves up 6-3 going into the 9th.
Billy Wagner came on for the save, but as soon as he reached the mound a downpour hit The Ted and the tarp went onto the field for a quick 20-minute rain delay. Despite the rain, Wags stayed loose and returned to set the Pirates down in order to end the game.
Braves win 6-3!
Good, Bad and Ugly coming up...
The Good:
1. The bullpen (Moylan, Saito and Wagner) - 3IP 0H 6K/0BB; that's just not fair.
2. Marteeen Prado - 2-for-4, 2B 3RBI 1R
3. Troy Glaus - 1-for-3, BB 2B 1BB
4. Kris Medlen - 6IP 9H 3ER 2BB/4K
5. Jason Heyward - 2-for-5, HR(10) 2B 1RBI 1R; OPS of over 1.000 again. Not too bad.
The Bad:
1. Nothing, to be perfectly honest.
The Ugly:
1. Yunel Escobar (again.) - 0-for-4, 1K 5LOB; this is getting pathetic. I don't know how much longer the Braves stick with Esco. I love the guy, but all he does is swing at pitches early in the count and ground out to the left side of the infield.
2. Brendan Donnelly - 1.2IP 1H 2ER 1BB/2K
Open Thread Comment Count: 1,870
Upcoming Game: The 3-game series will conclude tomorrow afternoon, weather permitting. It'll be Kenshin Kawakami on the mound for the Braves and Paul Maholm for the Pirates. First pitch is at 1:35EST.
0 recs | 56 comments
What a team!
Prado lead the NL with 67 hits, Heyward leads the NL in OPS, Chipper leads the NL in walks, and the Braves are 1 1/2 back of 1st. God, I really love this team!
romone_braves91 - May 29, 2010
I know, I know. I know.
I’m beating a dead horse.
But if you have 1 guy leading the league in hits, and another guy leading the league in walks….wouldn’t you put the guy leading the league in OPS BEHIND them?
In due time, I suppose.
Either way, great win tonight. Great winning streak. Great play lately.
ATLandUNC - May 29, 2010
you have said it a lot but I completely agree with you. I’m not usually one to second guess Bobby, cause he probably sees something that we don’t, but still, a guy with a .300+ avg. and 10 homers oughtta be in the 3 hole.
Shoert - May 30, 2010
And the one leading in hits should hit BEHIND the one leading the league in walks.
Chipper can still run the bases well.
Alvaro Andres Pizza Varela - May 30, 2010
Please tell me you’re not advocating Martin Prado hitting 3rd. Or 4th.
UMDBHIK - May 30, 2010
If we had more prototypical speedy leadoff hitter I think Prado at 2 and Heyward at 3 would be perfect. Prado hits so much and hits enough doubles that I think he could be an 80 RBI guy with a full year at 2.
ATLandUNC - May 30, 2010
i had so much hope
for him and McLouth at the top
drumzalicious - May 30, 2010
i had so much hope
for mclouth in general : /
ATLandUNC - May 30, 2010
this
I really thought McLouth would be the leadoff presence we needed. Hopefully he can turn it around before it’s to late
Braves24 - May 30, 2010
I'd say 2nd, behind Chipper...
Chipper
Prado
Heyward
Mr. Sanchez - May 30, 2010
chipper hitting leadoff?
on paper, it makes sense…. OBP, walks, yadda, yadda. but i just don’t see that happening.
atl192485 - May 30, 2010
No, Chipper hitting ledoff, Prado second, Heyward third,
Glaus cleanup agaist lefties and McCann agaisnt righties.
Alvaro Andres Pizza Varela - May 30, 2010
Look out Phils!
Bravely going forward - May 29, 2010
lol. Love it.
!Vive la Francoeur! - May 29, 2010
one of my favorite scenes as a kid
Bravely going forward - May 29, 2010
ROFLMAO
You should make one of those for Heyward, and have the girl with a Mets shirt on.
GouldisGold - May 30, 2010
i hope
bobby doesn’t put in the C-team tomorrow.
and that we score early and often so our BP can be rested for the philly series.
excuse me while i go stuff the all-star ballot box for prado and heyward. i encourage all of you to do so, too, if you haven’t been.
atl192485 - May 29, 2010
Actually
Wouldn’t be that bad an idea. Give some guys some consistent at-bats and get some guys some ABs. Don’t forget that it’s a day game on Monday.
Richie Grogan - May 29, 2010
C team
is never a good idea.
Some rest is ok, but at least keep 2 of Heyward, Chipper, Glaus, or Mac in the game.
ATLandUNC - May 30, 2010
well
Mac has been out the entire series. I think he should rest Mac again tomorrow and prob rest Chip, Escobar and McLouth.
I say go
1. Prado 3B
2. Conrad 2B
3. Heyward RF
4. Glaus 1B
5. Cabrera LF
6. Infante SS
7. Ross C
8. Blanco CF
9. Kawakami P
I guess give Prado a day off on Monday and Heyward a day off on Tuesday since we kinda have another 10-15 games non stop coming up
drumzalicious - May 30, 2010
Andruw used to play 162 games a year like a champ
All it did was kill his career by age 32, heh
ATLandUNC - May 30, 2010
That, and doughnuts.
Frozen Fan - May 30, 2010
yeah, that's what did it...
playing 160+ games a year, a lot of people have played a long, long time.
Mr. Sanchez - May 30, 2010
Actually, no.
Only 8 players have played in 160+ games more than 5 times. Aside from Cal Ripken and Pete Rose, playing in that many games on a regular basis is EXTREMELY difficult. Even Andruw has only done it 4 times, actually.
BTW, the last Braves player to play in that many games was Dale Murphy (also a CFer), who did it 5 times by age 30… And was washed up by 33.
Not that it’s a death knell to play in that many games, but it seems like an unnecessary risk to me, no matter who the player is. Days off are your friend.
Jacob Peterson - May 30, 2010
well
im also thinking about the Shin injury that he had and letting it rest every now and then. Plus he is a rookie and hasnt played a full 162 game season yet.
drumzalicious - May 30, 2010
back from the game
That had a bit of everything, didn’t it?
Medlen had D- stuff tonight but pitched with his guts hanging out and some outstanding D helped to limit the damage. Prado is raking right now, but you already know that.
Hobnail_Boot - May 29, 2010
Can't really say it enough, though.
Prado is raking!
Jacob Peterson - May 29, 2010
I actually thought Medlen was very, very lucky tonight.
He was extremely hittable—of the 18 balls the Pirates put in play, 9 (!!!) were line drives. Meds was extremely fortunate that 2 of those liners turned into double plays. Overall, in 6 innings, he gave up 9 hits, including a homer, a triple, and two doubles. Now to his credit, he didn’t walk anyone after the first 2 batters, picked 2 guys off (though only 1 was called correctly), and made some good pitches to get some key outs. He also got us through 6 innings, which is always a plus. But he could have very easily given up 5 or 6 runs instead of just 3.
Anyway, it was a good win. Some clutch hitting, some dominant relieving, and less than a half hour of rain delays (that seems like a small amount after the past 2 nights). Now let’s hope the rain stays away long enough for us to sweep tomorrow!
(BTW, does anyone know what the record is for most consecutive games played with a rain delay? I think we might break it…)
Jacob Peterson - May 29, 2010
I agree
but the bright side is that the offense was able to pick him up, and have done so for D-Lowe in pretty much every start. A year ago this time we would be looking at a 3-1 or 3-0 loss.
Shoert - May 30, 2010
Very true
I’m not complaining, obviously. I’ll take lucky every day!
Jacob Peterson - May 30, 2010
well
either way you look at it he has been amazing for us.
drumzalicious - May 30, 2010
It certainly is nice to have a 6th starter of Medlen’s quality.
Jacob Peterson - May 30, 2010
Can next week’s FCP go to 12?
UMDBHIK - May 30, 2010
No.
It can only be turned up to 11.
EricGreggWasPaidOff - May 30, 2010
Then I want my membership fee refunded.
UMDBHIK - May 30, 2010
You can’t dust for vomit
Frozen Fan - May 30, 2010
daaaamn, Halladay threw a perfect game vs. the marlins and the marlins lost 1-0,
Kobe:The Legend - May 30, 2010
I’m real broken hearted he won’t be facing us in the next series
Frozen Fan - May 30, 2010
i know
i want the offense to rock him. Mac, Heyward and Chip hitting HR’s and Glaus showing some singles POWAH
drumzalicious - May 30, 2010
As much as I’d love to see that, I was being sarcastic. I don’t want to see Halliday fresh from a perfect game. However, if the Braves want to be champions, somewhere down the line they’ll have to beat ol Roy. To be honest, I think the best way to do that is to grind him. Run his pitch count up and get to the bullpen. Braves have been great at that this year. Been a few years since I’ve felt this confident about this team. The last few years, a 3-1 defecit in the 6th inning would send me into a depression. This years team is different, not feeling the panic anymore
Frozen Fan - May 30, 2010
*HallAday,
Frozen Fan - May 30, 2010
Can't believe this team lost nine straight.
There great run has made it seem like ancient history. I wanna jump up and down and scream that this is the greatest team ever. The next 17 game stretch is brutal. Home for 3 against the phils, 4 at the dodgers, 4 at Arizona, 3 at Minnesota, and when we finally get to come back to the Ted, it’s for a three game series against the freakin Tampa Bay Rays. Brutal. By the time the Rays series starts, braves will have played 39 road games, compared to 25 at home. Seems like the schedule makers want us to stumble out of the gate. Well fuck ’em. Line them up. Mow them down, and pass the ammo. Go Braves!!!
Frozen Fan - May 30, 2010
Well we’ll either sweep or get swept by the DBacks. All that team does is win 6 straight and then lose 8 straight. I couldn’t imagine being a fan.
Scott Coleman - May 30, 2010 via mobile
If the Braves can go 8-9 or 9-8 in this stretch, that will be an accomplishment. But I would not rule out 10 or 11 wins in that stretch either.
UMDBHIK - May 30, 2010
4 out of the five series against playoff potential teams(and the Dbacks are not going to lay down for us). Including arguably the best teams in each league (phils,rays… I’d argue braves, but I digress). If the braves play winning ball in that stretch and our within a couple games of a playoff spot, I’ll be thrilled. Home friendly schedule after that.
Frozen Fan - May 30, 2010
Agreed.
I don’t need them to dominate, just keep their heads above water. Once we get through this stretch, it’s mostly smooth sailing for the rest of the year. If we can just stay within shouting distance of the division lead by the end of June, we have a great chance to win it.
Jacob Peterson - May 30, 2010
I woulda pitched a complete game.....
……if it hadn’t been for you Meddlin kids!!!!
UMDBHIK - May 30, 2010
I would have won that game…
…if it hadn’t been for you Medlen kids!
telemakhos - May 30, 2010
Why the heck
is ADAM LaRoche in that picture?
Jacob Peterson - May 30, 2010
haha, he just looked too much like shaggy to pass up
telemakhos - May 30, 2010
Just got back from this game
when McCutchen went to the plate in the 3rd, they played the song “Dude looks like a lady” as he walked to the batter’s box. Then he belted a home run. The next time he came up, there was no song played.
alligatorimpersonator - May 30, 2010
They also talked about it for Doumit...
“I think it was D’oh. A deer. A female deer.”—Joe Simpson.
Mr. Sanchez - May 30, 2010
Can we please not taunt McCutchen any more?
Jacob Peterson - May 30, 2010
Ok ok. I admit it. I have been stuffing the ballot box for our boys! Great game! Now let’s close this thing out and get KK the W that he deserves!
jdmarine - May 30, 2010 via mobile
wait
i thought it had to be 1-2 runs to be considered a save
drumzalicious - May 30, 2010
nope
1 IP, 3 run lead = save
atl192485 - May 30, 2010
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