Christian Petersen - Getty Images
Kris Medlen slides in safe at home for what was then the tying run.
In a back and forth battle, the Braves outlasted the Diamondbacks to take the second game of the series and even the four game set 1-1. Kris Medlen had a rough performance on the mound, allowing three solo shots in the game's first two innings and giving up four total runs across five innings. Offensively, Medlen got on base in all of his at bats, but he suffered a posterior left shoulder strain on his non-throwing arm as he slid into home plate with what was then the game tying run. Kris will be further re-evaluated tomorrow.
Predictably, the Braves' bullpen proved to be stronger than the Diamondbacks'. Jonny Venters, Eric O'Flaherty, and Billy Wager were all effective and pitched 3.1 scoreless innings between them. Peter Moylan walked two and allowed an earned run as Bobby Cox questionably took the Aussie out for Jonny Venters against Kelly Johnson. Johnson has a higher OPS this season and in his career against lefties and he subsequently singled off of Venters to tie the game at 5.
Troy Glaus came through for the Braves in a big way in the top of the eighth as he tied the game with a two out double off of the losing pitcher Esmerling Vasquez (0-2). Jonny Venters (1-0) was able to shut down the Diamondbacks in the eighth, and despite allowing the inherited runner to score in the seventh he earned his first Major League win. Melky Cabrera added an insurance run on a wild pitch by Juan Gutierrez in the top half of the ninth, and Billy Wagner was able to close the game down for his tenth save of the season.
The Braves offense was able to keep up with the Diamondbacks due to Omar Infante, Melky Cabrera, and Kris Medlen having big days offensively. Each got on base at least three times and Infante was able to get on four times in place of Martin Prado in the leadoff spot.
Kelly Johnson was pestering the Braves the entire night as he opened the Diamondbacks scoring with a first inning homer and added two more hits along with two more RBI throughout course of the game. Justin Upton hit an absolute bomb off of Medlen in the first and Mark Reynolds added a mammoth shot to center in the second. Outside of the two big homers and Johnson's big day, the Diamondbacks offense struggled as the rest of the team combined for just two hits.
It's good to see the Braves win these types of games. In the past few seasons, these are the kind of games the Braves would have a difficult time coming out on top in. They had solid clutch hits throughout the game, which is expected from a first place team. With the win, the Braves remain two games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies in the N.L East.
Tomorrow, Kenshin Kawakami (0-8) looks to get his first win of the season against Ian Kennedy (3-3) at 9:40pm at Chase Field.
0 recs | 129 comments
It's not a wager, when you've got Wagner! :)
kreese555 - June 9, 2010
Well he was a wager
and I think we came out on top.
frozendesert - June 9, 2010
nah, he was a sure thing
his mother was a mudder!
kreese555 - June 9, 2010
Lol Smoltz!
frozendesert - June 9, 2010
It’s kinda sad that Seinfeld quotes run my life haha
kreese555 - June 9, 2010
No la problema
frozendesert - June 9, 2010
muy bien
Braves24 - June 9, 2010
+1
so much win.
Smoltz's Beard - June 9, 2010
Good catch. You proof read things 3 times and still miss something. Jeez.
BenDuronio - June 9, 2010
haha, just thought it was funny that the typo spelled "wager"
kreese555 - June 9, 2010
This win was about as ugly as Elaine’s dancing.
Kenshin getting his first win tomorrow. I feel it.
TonyAlmeyda - June 9, 2010
God i hope so
he deserves it
ChitownBravos - June 9, 2010
I gotta feeling
that tomorrow is going to be a good, good night.
frozendesert - June 9, 2010
black eyed peas suck
CoxXx - June 9, 2010
Like a full-body dry heave set to music
kreese555 - June 9, 2010
I sure hope so.
I’m getting tired of seeing headlines “Kawakami looks for first win against _________”
10-4 - June 9, 2010
lose Kawakami.
Smoltz's Beard - June 9, 2010
Actually, get the offense a GPS when Kawakami is pitching. If you see his run support per s tart, you might understand the big 8. In all honesty, it should be a 4 or a 5…
Joseph_C - June 9, 2010
Seriously, he can’t lose them all.
Sparhawk - June 9, 2010
milestones
this was jonny venters’ first big league W
and also billy wagner’s 395th save
atl192485 - June 9, 2010
Congrats to Venters
frozendesert - June 9, 2010
he shutdown the middle of their lineup
Braves24 - June 9, 2010
Good win. Bullpen pitch great great and troy had a clutch hit. Now let’s get KK his first win and Heyward a day off.
Braves24 - June 9, 2010
IF Medlen misses the next game who starts.
BRaves1 - June 9, 2010
Strasburg
kreese555 - June 9, 2010
Heyward
frozendesert - June 9, 2010
i didnt mean to make that a reply sorry
BRaves1 - June 9, 2010
its all good
Resop is going to have to come up anyway, unless we want to pay more money to stay in the minors. Resop or Todd Redmond
Braves24 - June 9, 2010
I was reading Braves Journal
and decided if I ever pitch or hit in the major leagues (ha!), my entrance/walkup music will be the Imperial March.
frozendesert - June 9, 2010
+1
that would be awesome…
Bravely going forward - June 9, 2010
KJ is annoying as hell now
ATLBRVS_19 - June 9, 2010
To be fair
he was pretty annoying before.
frozendesert - June 9, 2010
yep.
he kept finding ways to hurt us with his bat despite being on the team.
sanctarian - June 9, 2010
Yeah, where was this guy when he was with the Braves?
John Holton - June 9, 2010
Too buys getting benched against lefties.
BenDuronio - June 9, 2010
meds injury update
ajcbraves
Medlen posterior left shoulder strain, will be reevaluated tomorrow
ajcbraves
Medlen injury isn’t a big deal at all, as it turns out. He said it hurt a lot when it happened, but by game’s end he’d iced it and felt fine
atl192485 - June 9, 2010
good to hear
BRaves1 - June 9, 2010
that makes me happy.
now we can laud him for a mighty impressive slide!
sanctarian - June 9, 2010
do we bring up resop as a log reliever anyway?
we dont have one until medlin steps back into the role when jj gets back. Sounds like thats gonna be pretty soon..so do we bring resop up? Even though he is stretched out as a starter, he could be pretty valuable in our pen, but for that matter so could dunn. Whats wren gonna do? Even if he wants to trade resop, it seems like he would get more value out of him by bringing up to the majors…but really, doesnt he hit 100 mph?
willlinn - June 9, 2010
those logs do need relieving
haha, it’s always so refreshing when it happens organically.
medlinmedallinmedlen…kreese555 - June 9, 2010
I wish I had a dime
For every time I’ve said that.
Sam Jethroe - June 9, 2010
we kinda have 3
Martinez
Chavez
Venters
although as of late Venters has been used in more critical situations.
drumzalicious - June 9, 2010
And Martinez doesn’t exist. And Chavez is fucking terrible.
BullManUGA - June 9, 2010
That's a great theory
what if Martinez’s career is really just some elaborate ploy by the FO…
VivaLosBravos - June 9, 2010
and it was his non-throwing shoulder
great news
CoxXx - June 9, 2010
This has nothing to do with tonight’s game but…
Remember at the first game of the year the team had to wait until the 5th inning to sell Jason Heyward Atlanta merchandise? I saw on MLBN tonight that there were a good number of people wearing Strasburg 37 shirts and stuff like that. I can only assume they didn’t buy it at the ballpark.
As for us, I only saw the last 3 innings but Glaus is still coming up aces for us. Good to see the W.
BullManUGA - June 9, 2010
I was wondering the same thing!
kreese555 - June 9, 2010
I was at the game...
There were people wearing non-official gear before the game Strasburg 37 shirts and stuff but they didn’t start selling things in the team shop and official Majestic merchandise until he threw his first pitch.
I was confused because I thought they had to wait till the fifth for the game to become official as had happened with Heyward… not sure what the rule is but they definitely made an announcement in the park that they would start selling official licensed Strasburg gear after the first pitch.
SuperNewb - June 9, 2010
Perhaps the rules for pitchers are different…?
BigG1392 - June 9, 2010
Or perhaps the Nats are desperate for money.
Joseph_C - June 9, 2010
Interesting...
what would be the fine MLB puts on a franchise for jumping the guy on that sort of thing, and would it not be a small fraction of the profits you’d make in those premature sales?
Mr. Sanchez - June 9, 2010
Strasburg signed a Major League contract with the Nationals upon being drafted and has been on the 40-man roster all year. I believe under those conditions, his jersey would have been available after the first game of the season became official, i.e. middle of the fifth, even though he did not play in that game nor was he even on the active roster at the time.
Rhyno18 - June 9, 2010
theres a thread for this, not policing, just saying
15ks - June 9, 2010
And where would that be? I certainly don’t see it, officer.
BullManUGA - June 9, 2010
kinda like, “i don’t mean to be a dick, but…”
CharlotteChop - June 9, 2010
"Peter Moylan walked two and allowed an earned run as Bobby Cox questionably took the Aussie out for Jonny Venters."
I’m still not understand our reaction to this move by Bobby… the sentence clearly says it.. he’d walked two guys and didn’t seem in control so Bobby went to the pen.
SuperNewb - June 9, 2010
*don't
SuperNewb - June 9, 2010
People are never happy
If Bobby left Moylan out there you would hear: “OMG I can’t believe he’s leaving him out there! Pull him already! Bobby Cox cost us that game!”
If Bobby had put a remaing RHP (Chavez/Martinez) you would hear: “OMG I can’t believe he’s bringing in a scurb reliever! Use our best guys already! Bobby Cox cost us that game!”
Rediculous.
TheBravestWay To Block A Decent Prospect - June 9, 2010
Exactly.
DogDaysofSummer - June 9, 2010
True, but I think it was more of an issue with bringing a lefty in to face Johnson, who has really good lefty/righty splits. But lets not make it a big deal, since we won and Bobby is still the man
Shoert - June 9, 2010
"But skip, I have nine home runs today"....
“Yes, but you see, the pitcher is a lefty, so I’m putting in a righty. It’s called playing the percentages. It’s what smart managers do to win ball games.”
Mr. Sanchez - June 9, 2010
You win a gold star for that.
EricGreggWasPaidOff - June 9, 2010
Now that Prado has gotten a day off hopefully tomorrow we can give Heyward a day off to rest this hurting thumb of his. Wouldnt be to upset to see Prado get another day off.
drumzalicious - June 9, 2010
HERE WE GO GALAXY HERE WE GO
Lonnie approves of the win.
Scott Coleman - June 9, 2010
it was AWESOME!
GeneParmesan - June 9, 2010
Hey Scott,
if you were at the game tonight, great job. I heard the chant break out a few times. There seemed to be more Braves fans than Dbacks fans, based on jerseys and the like, too.
Jacob Peterson - June 9, 2010
Medlen is a Ballplayer
I like that guy. Tried a steal. Slid head first into home. Pitched. Ran the bases well. Love that from a guy.
kalesi - June 9, 2010
I love his enthusiasm
but if it causes him to go on the DL, I’d prefer he just slide normally. Losing one game is better than having someone take his spot in the rotation and be less effective.
fphjr01 - June 9, 2010
He said after the game that his shoulder feels fine and it’s just tight. That shouldn’t cause him to miss his next scheduled start on Sunday.
TonyAlmeyda - June 9, 2010
yeah it was his non-throwing shoulder, plus he has 4 days to rest it. IT may affect his swing though
Shoert - June 9, 2010
OMG!!
We can’t lose his offensive production! He’s better than some of the non-pitchers!
EricGreggWasPaidOff - June 9, 2010
LOL NATE
:(
DogDaysofSummer - June 9, 2010
+1
Medlen is the Matt Diaz of the pitching staff.
John Holton - June 9, 2010
If heyward sits today who do you think will start in RF? With Nate banged up do you think they will put Blanco in center and move Melky to right.
MDBraves49 - June 9, 2010
I really wish they would start Blanco to see if maybe he is still hot (although he hasn’t really hit in like what, 2 weeks?)
Dave_D - June 9, 2010
Can brooks play right field?
I would prefer his bat to gregor or Nates at this point.. Or hell think we could get huddy some flyballs before the game and he relieve heyward for the day.. I like his bat too.
SidKotchman - June 9, 2010 via mobile
haha if prado is in there i wonder if bobby would give infante a shot in right, i doubt it though
MDBraves49 - June 9, 2010
Infante has played in left a couple games. And if he’s more comfortable there than in right, Bobby could easily swap Melky over to right….
EricGreggWasPaidOff - June 9, 2010
I approve of this decision. However, against a righty I believe Hinske should move to RF with Infante in LF. You can keep Melky in at RF though, either way works. Infante is rolling right now though, and it would be wise to find a place for him to get in tonight.
BenDuronio - June 9, 2010
I doubt NateMcOuts will play. Or at least, I sincerely hope so.
Joseph_C - June 9, 2010
Medlen
mvandonsel - June 9, 2010
If Bobby waits until the weekend to sit Heyward I’m going to set myself on fire right in the LF bleachers of Bullseye Field.
UMDBHIK - June 9, 2010
Can you do
us a favor and set yourself on fire behind home plate? That improves our chances of winning that series.
frozendesert - June 9, 2010
LOL! For real. I, and a lot of people, use that expression, but this actually did make me laught out loud. Thanks.
I feel your pain, btw. A few years ago it seemed every game I had bought tickets to, John Thompson was pitching. :(
Old Braves' Fan - June 9, 2010
John Thomsen did actually start one of the Braves/Twins games in 2007. I was not happy.
UMDBHIK - June 9, 2010
I expect Nate to be in center and Melky in right.
BenDuronio - June 9, 2010
I need to get better at hitting reply before I post.
BenDuronio - June 9, 2010
Np haha. Have you heard anything of nate’s health?
MDBraves49 - June 9, 2010
PROWESS WILL CONVINCE ALPHA HUMAN COX BOBBY TO USE CYBORG IN CF AND REPLACE MCLOUTH NATE OUTS WITH BASEBALL HITS
TradeAndruw - June 9, 2010
I expect that too.
That’s the best defensive alignment (sans Heyward). Also, Nate had a hit last night, so Bobby probably wants to reward him by getting him back in there.
Jacob Peterson - June 9, 2010
Yeh, I question how serious the toe injury really is to be honest.
BenDuronio - June 9, 2010
It was actually pretty bad. I hear Jo-Jo-itis isn’t very treatable, either.
EricGreggWasPaidOff - June 9, 2010
Great game, but FYI Glaus gave us the LEAD in the 8th with his double. And if McCann wasn’t so dang slow, the final would have been 8-5.
Dave_D - June 9, 2010
I would like to congratulate Justin Upton
For being selected to represent the Diamondbacks on the Alfonso Soriano Honorary Douchecanoe Team.
What an asshole.
gramsey712 - June 9, 2010
I didn’t catch the game unfortunately, so what is this in reference to?
Sparhawk - June 9, 2010
He flipped his bat theatrically
and then stood and admired his homer for like 10 seconds before running to first. A real douchey move if you ask me. You won’t see Heyward doing that.
Also, expect Upton to get plunked in the first non-critical situation that he comes up in tonight or tomorrow.
Jacob Peterson - June 9, 2010
It was excused as trying to see if it stayed fair...
although the bat toss kind of pokes a hole in that theory.
Mr. Sanchez - June 9, 2010
He had time to take a Polaroid of it.
NCChopper - June 9, 2010
FTFY
Rhyno18 - June 9, 2010
Bring up Resop to plunk him.
TradeAndruw - June 9, 2010
I'd love to see Hanson take a shot at his earhole
gramsey712 - June 9, 2010
That’ll probably happen regardless of intent.
BenDuronio - June 9, 2010
Seriously. Tommy’s been a bit wild as of late, hasn’t he? Then he comes back and blows them away. At times I’m sitting there thinking to myself, “Is he just trying to scare them; plant a seed of doubt in their minds?” Sort of like, “Plunk the mascot,” from Bull Durham, ya know?
Old Braves' Fan - June 9, 2010
Heyward swings and starts running if the ball is fair. Heyward is awesome
MBL1 - June 9, 2010 via mobile
You get credit for calling this first if it happens. And I hope it does.
EricGreggWasPaidOff - June 9, 2010
Poor KK. Can someone get him a win???
EyePod - June 9, 2010
I just hate the fact that Lowe is doing just as bad/worse and has 8 wins
EyePod - June 9, 2010
Let's just pretend
that they both have 4 wins and call it even. Problem solved!
Jacob Peterson - June 9, 2010
Yes, if only it worked that way...
We could take half of D. Lowe’s winz and give them to Kawakami. Then, they’d be 4-5 and 4-8, respectively. That would be more fair.
EricGreggWasPaidOff - June 9, 2010
Game MVP:
Melky
Game LVP:
Yunel (0/5, 2 K, idiotic slide into first)
Jacob Peterson - June 9, 2010
Season MVP
Melky
BigG1392 - June 9, 2010
+53
bpk228480 - June 9, 2010
I’d do +280 there. Use Melky’s weight instead of his number.
Rhyno18 - June 9, 2010
+530
I forgot a zero for MVHS weight
bpk228480 - June 9, 2010
Proof that the mystical Yankee way dominates baseball.
Not the, you know, money.
DogDaysofSummer - June 9, 2010
We’ve got Melky and Hinske, so I guess that means we are winnars =)
BigG1392 - June 9, 2010
I like the attitude they brought with them to Braves
It’s evident they were taught to hustle down the line no matter how slow they were. It’s obvious Hinske wants to make the most of every at bat. When he fails, he shows real emotions. I like their “never give up attitude”. They play hard no matter what the score. If we are winning by 6 they continue to play as if the score were tied. If we are losing by 6 they continue to try to help the team get back in the game. This attitude is impressive to me. I hate to see players give up, and turn for the dug-out when they feel they will be called out at first, or drop their heads and sit in the dug-out as if the game is over after the other team gets up several runs on us. I have noticed during these times, it’s Hinske, Glaus, and even Melky that continue to hold their head up and encourage the other players to do the same. These guys have a winning attitude! We needed that. Props to FW for picking up Hinske and Glaus for pennies on the dollar. They have been great additions in more ways than one! Wags has fire also. I love these guys.
HEYJUDE - June 9, 2010
Glaus gets incredibly emotional at times, it’s great to see out of a player.
Smoltz's Beard - June 9, 2010
Prado as well
he gets pretty pissed when he doesn’t produce in a critical spot.
Mr. Sanchez - June 9, 2010
It was hilarious seeing him chuck the bat down the hallway the other day.
Smoltz's Beard - June 9, 2010
Glaus leads the league in helmet spikes, solely from his rough April.
BenDuronio - June 9, 2010
I swear he’s gonna kill an ump one of these days arguing balls and strikes.
Smoltz's Beard - June 9, 2010
Remember? They develop ALL their talent! It’s just via other organizations.
UMDBHIK - June 9, 2010
MVP = Melkiest Valid Player?
EricGreggWasPaidOff - June 9, 2010
Other game MVP:
Adam LaRoche. That guy is terrible defensively. At least 3 of our “hits” were fieldable by LaRoche. It’s hilarious how even our announcers rush to come up with ludicrous explanations for every ball that he whiffs on or boots. “Chipper hit that so hard he couldn’t get his glove down!” Haha, right, guys. That was a routine ground ball.
Jacob Peterson - June 9, 2010
We got a Win
regardless of he did this, he didn’t do that. I am happy:)
HEYJUDE - June 9, 2010
What’s baseball without the “he did this, he didn’t do that”? I think it’s a rule or something.
Smoltz's Beard - June 9, 2010
I hate rules :)
HEYJUDE - June 9, 2010
You…you….anarchist, you! ;-)
Old Braves' Fan - June 9, 2010
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