After Chipper Jones was announced as a late scratch due to back spasms (he's listed as day-to-day, but isn't he always?), the Braves' lineup seemed somewhat... sparse. The chief source of concern I saw was about the 2nd and 3rd slots in the lineup: Melky Cabrera and Omar Infante, respectively. Melky has obviously struggled in a Braves uniform, and Omar (for all his myriad virtues) is not exactly your prototypical #3 hitter.
Well, let's just say that our fears were unfounded, at least for one night. Melky and Omar combined for 7 of the Braves' 12 hits and scored all 4 of the Braves' runs. Their crowning moments came in the 7th inning, when they hit back-to-back solo homers off of Mets starter R.A. Dickey to turn a 2-2 tie into a 4-2 Braves lead. And all this from two guys with 3 combined homers coming into tonight!
Before giving up the tie-breaking homers, Dickey had used his knuckleball to frustrate the Braves' hitters for much of the night. He gave up a few hits but no one other than Melky and Omar seemed to hit the ball hard against him. The Braves once again scored in the first inning, the 5th straight game in which they have done so. Cabrera came around to score when Jose Reyes booted an easy ground ball up the middle. Troy Glaus singled in Infante in the 5th for the Braves' 2nd run. All in all, it was a decent night for Dickey, at least until the homers in the 7th. His final line was: 6.2 IP, 9 H, 4 R (3 ER), 2 HR, 2 BB (1 IBB), 6 K, and a -0.227 WPA.
Braves starter Tommy Hanson was not spectacular, either, but he got the job done and kept the Braves in the game. If he could have just gotten Dickey out, he might not have given up any runs. Unfortunately, Dickey singled and scored on a David Wright sacrifice fly in the 3rd, then singled and scored on a Jose Reyes double in the fifth. In each case, Dickey scored the tying run.
Tommy only gave up 5 hits to the Mets' position players--really, it should have been 4, but Yunel Escobar called for a popup that he subsequently lost in the lights, resulting in a double. He threw too many pitches, which contributed to him being pulled before the end of the 6th inning, but other than that it was a solid outing. His line: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K, and a -0.014 WPA.
The Braves' bullpen was its usual stellar self, giving up only 1 hit in the last 3.1 innings, striking out 3. Eric O'Flaherty got the last out of the 6th, Jonny Venters worked a perfect 7th, Takashi Saito worked around some wildness in a scoreless 8th, and Billy Wagner made quick work of the Mets in the 9th for his 20th save.
All in all, it was an excellent start to the last series of the first half. The Braves now have a 4-game lead in the NL East. And they did it by riding the bats of two unsung heroes*.
* Actually, that's not accurate. Omar has to be a "sung" hero now that he's on the all-star team, and Melky has been... not unsung, since that implies he made under-the-radar contributions. More like anti-sung. OK, so let's just say the Braves won tonight because of their unexpectedly-sung hero and their anti-sung hero.
Bravo, boys. Let's do it again tomorrow.
Co-MVPs
Melky Cabrera-- 3/5, HR, 2 R, RBI, SB, .240 WPA
Omar Infante-- 4/5, HR, 2 R, RBI, CS, .180 WPA
Honorable Mention
Troy Glaus-- 1/4, BB, RBI, ROE that drove in the first run, .152 WPA
The Bullpen
LVP
Jeff Francoeur-- 0/4, -0.175 WPA
MVP in a Losing Effort
No great candidates (the best hitters by WPA were Dickey, who had a bad WPA pitching, and Reyes, who made an error that caused a run to score)... Let's go with Angel Pagan-- 2/5, SB, 2 K, 0.050 WPA.
Clutch Play
Melky's tie-breaking homer in the 7th (0.226 WPA)
Unclutch Play
No really bad ones, but Frenchy's line-out to end the 8th (-0.090 WPA) was the worst.
0 recs | 86 comments
MVP’s taters aren’t cheap.
Sam Jethroe - July 9, 2010
No, sir.
About a million bucks per tater, so far.
Seriously, though. He did hit that ball pretty hard. Makes you wonder what he could do if he stopped hitting the ball so hard into the dirt and started lifting it more.
Jacob Peterson - July 9, 2010
I can't remember the third one, but...
The two I have in mind were each (wait for it…) really mashed.
Sam Jethroe - July 9, 2010
I believe the one you're missing
Was hit during that Pirates game that was blacked out because Fox decided to play in primetime. It was his first of the year and no one believed it happened.
Sarahbeth - July 9, 2010
Now that you mention it...
That’s exactly right.
I kept missing it on Quick Pitch later that night until I finally managed to see it. It was pretty well tagged, too, if memory serves.
Sam Jethroe - July 9, 2010
Wow
Prado went 0-for-5! What do you guys think is wrong?!?!
GouldisGold - July 9, 2010
DFA the bum
TonyAlmeyda - July 9, 2010
We need to quickly petition to get him removed from the All-Star Game.
Bronn - July 9, 2010
Put Utley out there in a lawn chair.
He’d still have more range than Uggla.
Sam Jethroe - July 9, 2010
but Uggla has such a great AS track record
VivaLosBravos - July 10, 2010
for those who don't know/remember what VLB is talking about
dan uggla at the 2008 ASG: 0-for-4, 3K, GIDP, 3 errors
atl192485 - July 10, 2010
Wanted to let Melky and Infante have the spotlight tonight
MBL1 - July 9, 2010 via mobile
Prado will be fine
After the game I saw Omar w/his arm around his shoulder giving him advice. He’ll snap out of it. (end sarcasm.) On another note Saito is beginning to worry me. Don’t have the warm fuzzy feeling of confidence I used to have whenever he took the mound.
adc62 - July 10, 2010
I repeat...
Biggest NL East lead this season.
Most game above .500 this season.
And we now officially will be the team leading the East at the all-star break.
Wa….
HOO!
SuperNewb - July 9, 2010
Wow when I posted this early I forgot the s at the end of "games" too
SuperNewb - July 9, 2010
No, you were correct, the Braves do in fact have more Game than anyone else.
yondaime4 - July 10, 2010
I was peeking in at the recap thread on Amazain' Avenue
Someone mentioned that Jeff Francoeur’s numbers would look great if he were Ozzie Smith (meaning, I took it, that he has the defensive value of Ozzie Smith, a ridiculously good shortstop).
So I pulled this up for them:
Ozzie Smith career wOBA: .311
Jeff Francoeur career wOBA: .316
Ozzie Smith career wRC+: 96
Jeff Francouer career WRC+: 92
Ozzie Smith was actually a more productive offensive player, relative to his era, than Francoeur. Hah.
Bronn - July 9, 2010
failcouer is fail.
kbertling353 - July 9, 2010
Fixed it.
Bronn - July 9, 2010
and I've never seen Frency backflip
VivaLosBravos - July 10, 2010
or French, for that matter
VivaLosBravos - July 10, 2010
dammit
F-r-e-n-c-h-y
VivaLosBravos - July 10, 2010
Was it really worth it to get three posts to spell that right? I don’t anyone anyone cares if you mispell his name or nickname.
Bronn - July 10, 2010
LOL
TonyAlmeyda - July 10, 2010
could’ve stopped after the first one, not the second.
VivaLosBravos - July 11, 2010
ESPN shows us no love, they are terribad!
TCfromDubVee - July 9, 2010
I'm surprised they don't show more highlights
Just to let that schmuck Valentine diss Bobby, a man he could never, ever beat when it counted.
Sam Jethroe - July 9, 2010
I never really
thought Bobby V was that great of a manager, that guy’s voice drives me nuts at the Leader! He really never could be Bobby when it counted and I’m sure that caused resentment and yes, ESPN is pretty pretty bad…
bfsinc - July 10, 2010
Great win. Lets win the series tomorrow
Braves24 - July 9, 2010
Just an all around great win with a less-than-stellar lineup.
Healthy Heyward is good make this lineup look so much better
ATLBRVS_19 - July 9, 2010
Mets fans at AA are hilarious. I used to think Mets fans were awful, mostly because i’ve been to a lot of Braves/Mets games. But after visiting The Good Phight and AA, I’ve realized it’s really the Phillies fans who are idiots, and AA’s comments are fun to read.
MBL1 - July 9, 2010 via mobile
phillies fans are, for the most part, frontrunners, just like jimmy rollins said.
mets fans will always, deep down inside, love their team, which is respectable, which shows with their self-deprecating humor.
atl192485 - July 9, 2010
My favorite part
In the recap: “Against one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, Jeff Francoeur made four outs on just six pitches. Six.”
sag969 - July 9, 2010
haha yea, that was good
but i like this one better:
atl192485 - July 10, 2010
Haha yup
I won’t gloat too much though. Things like that come back to hurt lol.
sag969 - July 10, 2010
no to gloating too much
but yes to using “crapitalize” from here on out
atl192485 - July 10, 2010
agree 100%
Yunel crapitalized on several instances last night.
HalleyGator - July 10, 2010
So I see yunel was showing
SidGlaus - July 10, 2010 via mobile
Fail*
SidGlaus - July 10, 2010 via mobile
Man what is going through escobars head?
Don’t be surprised if he’s benched tomorrow yunel will more than likely be benches tomorrow nite according to mark bowman..with infante taking his place. His defense is stellar and his bats easy for me to put up with, even when he’s not hitting because his defense is so good.. But this attitude has to go or he’s going to keep on pissing the front office, Bobby, and the rest of his team mates off..until everyones completely against him.
SidGlaus - July 10, 2010 via mobile
Somebody needed to go up to him
And tell him to get his head out of his @$$
Richie Grogan - July 10, 2010
Mark Bowman
Has an irrational dislike for Escobar and it really colors his reporting. I’ve stopped even reading his blog because he could turn an anecdote about the ’82 West championship team into some sort of harrangue about Yunel.
Sam Jethroe - July 10, 2010
First place wrapped up for the ASB. Let’s try to get another series W tomorrow, so that Sunday can be the D lineup day. (DDay at Shea has a nice ring to it, and yes, I know their ballpark isn’t called Shea anymore. I’m not calling it Citi Field. That’s a lame ass name.)
UMDBHIK - July 10, 2010
Bail-out field maybe? :-)
SidGlaus - July 10, 2010 via mobile
I have a friend named Shea
whom I know call Citi.
VivaLosBravos - July 10, 2010
*now
VivaLosBravos - July 10, 2010
How does he like that?
UMDBHIK - July 10, 2010
Well the phillies
had a walk off today you know what this means. the Phillies are back sez ESPN
Erihury - July 10, 2010
“If you watch sportscenter you may know that the most important NL East news is that Strasburg started for the fifth place team and they finally won… The third place team also had a great walkoff win after a huge comeback and is now the clear favorite to win the NL pennant… There’s also a small, tiny possibility the… top two teams in the division played each other… It’s only really an unconfirmed rumor though.”
SuperNewb - July 10, 2010
Like ESPN would talk about anything OTHER than the Cliff Lee trade. In fact, I’m pretty sure they haven’t talked about anything BESIDES Lebron in the last 24 hours.
UMDBHIK - July 10, 2010
ESPN are probably besides themselves that Lee didn't get traded to the Yankees.
DogDaysofSummer - July 10, 2010
Great win.
I hope there is a special place in hell for knuckleball pitchers.
Frozen Fan - July 10, 2010
Uhhh…Niekro?
MBL1 - July 10, 2010 via mobile
Solid win
Tommygun seems to be back on track, would be nice if Yunel would get his head out of his butt after the AS break, would be great if we could add another bat and can’t wait to get that J.Hey kid back!
bfsinc - July 10, 2010
What the F#% is up with Cincy blowing 6 run leads in the 9th?
When the Braves did it, it was cute and charming. When the phils do it, it’s sad and tragic.
Frozen Fan - July 10, 2010
Barely even blowing it at all.
Eeeeeevil blowing it.
Sam Jethroe - July 10, 2010
+1
on the Zap Brannigan reference.
UMDBHIK - July 10, 2010
I'm fucking sick of Yunel Escobar
it’s time for him to go. Put Infante out there at SS or let Hicks play. At least those two don’t have their heads up their asses constantly.
I’m surprised Bobby and Glaus haven’t killed him yet.
Scott Coleman - July 10, 2010
Doesn't Yunel make you wish
that we still had Elvis Andrus? That Texeira trade will haunt me for years, especially when considering how good Neftail Feliz (tonight notwithstanding) has been and even more so after some of the bull pen struggles we had last year (Mike Gonzalez).
bfsinc - July 10, 2010
We’ll get no where crying and remembering the Tex trade, but yes, I would really love Elvis Andrus instead of Shithead right now.
Scott Coleman - July 10, 2010
And by the way, I'd like to ask TC this question:
The Mets announcers were predictably bashing the Braves’ offense all night. “No power, no superstar, etc. etc.”
We NEED a slogan for this team.
Look at the last few games. Tonight, Melky Cabrera and Omar Infante are the superstars and carry the team. On Wednesday, it was Martin Prado and Brian McCann. On Tuesday, it was Matt Diaz and Eric Hinske.
My point is this: Every single night, there’s a new hero. We don’t rely on two or three players to carry us like the Phillies or Mets do.
So, what should be our slogan? “Every Player Counts” or “Everybody Contributes” is kind of lame. I kind of like “New Night, New Hero”, but wasn’t sure if you guys and gals would like it too.
Any suggestions?
Scott Coleman - July 10, 2010
New Night, New Hero
I like it! And it’s very true to its name!!
bfsinc - July 10, 2010
When someone nitpicks your team when your team is better than their team, there is only one response...
scoreboard…scoreboard…scoreboard
where was their power and superstar tonight lol
foxrobe - July 10, 2010
Our slogan?
At Least We Ain’t The Fuckin’ METS!
I kind of like that one.
Sam Jethroe - July 10, 2010
Ass-Kickers Anonymous.
These guys have no name that you can recognize on a national level yet they will catch you off guard by simply putting in hard work and kicking your ass. A.K.A. the 2010 Braves.
romone_braves91 - July 10, 2010
I like it.
Scott Coleman - July 10, 2010 via mobile
Tommy only gave up 5 hits to the Mets’ position players—really, it should have been 4, but Yunel Escobar called for a popup that he subsequently lost in the lights, resulting in a double.
The horrible play by Hinkse also led to a run.
Windu - July 10, 2010
But Hinske isn't on the hatetrain currently.
First it was Glaus then Melky then Kawakami and now it’s Escobar’s turn.
DogDaysofSummer - July 10, 2010
Although Melky is always on caboose of the TC hatetrain when posters are looking for a scapegoat.
DogDaysofSummer - July 10, 2010
+2
One for each of those trenchant comments.
‘Ske muffed that ball but he didn’t put the pitcher on and he didn’t wild pitch him into scoring position.
Sam Jethroe - July 10, 2010
Melky has always been on there. It’s like an honorary doctorate or something for him.
justincredubil02 - July 10, 2010
He's the brakeman
On The Hate Train™
Sam Jethroe - July 10, 2010
You have a point,
but at least the ball to Hinske was hit hard. I wouldn’t say that it “should have” been an out because of how hard it was hit. Hinske did play it terribly, though. I should have mentioned it, too.
Jacob Peterson - July 10, 2010
Over what 120 games and at least 600 plays, Hinske was bound to have one blunder. It’s the nature of the game.
romone_braves91 - July 10, 2010
True.
He does not have a pattern of boneheaded plays like Yunel does. I guess that’s why I mentioned Yunel’s play and not Hinske’s.
Jacob Peterson - July 10, 2010
Also, expectations for Hinske in the field ought to be a helluva lot lower than they should for Yunel. It’s like comparing apples to iPhones. Nobody ever confused Hinske as a gold-glover.
UMDBHIK - July 10, 2010
Omar and Melky
anyone else think that maybe it’s their AL experience (seeing Tim Wakefield a lot) that gave Omar and Melky the edge against Dicky?
Xshare - July 10, 2010
If that were true,
you would have to add Glaus and Hinske (also long-time AL guys) to that list, since they are also long-time AL guys.
Jacob Peterson - July 10, 2010
We've got our foot on their throat...
…so keep pressing. Wouldn’t it be great to go into the ASB with a 6(!) game lead??
beeswax - July 10, 2010
Even if we sweep,
there’s a chance the lead will be less than 6 because the Phillies are only 5.5 back and the Reds bullpen keeps crapping the bed.
Jacob Peterson - July 10, 2010
oh yeah
oops…forgot about the phils. 5.5 games still aint bad though
beeswax - July 10, 2010
No
let’s just say that YOUR fears were unfounded.
the rest of us were anticipating a W.
Chief Noc-A-Homa - July 10, 2010
Hey
I was anticipating a win, too. Just didn’t think it’d be because of Melky and Omar.
Jacob Peterson - July 10, 2010
Pretty unbelievable, huh?
Chief Noc-A-Homa - July 10, 2010
We are looking really good. The bullpen was absolutely outstanding tonight. I’m interested to see if Yunel is benched tonight.
ZC1 - July 10, 2010
Yunel was the brains behind that huge play at 3rd.
but this offensive funk has him rattled. i don’t think i’ve ever seen him look lost, in regard to a pop-up. ever.
Chief Noc-A-Homa - July 10, 2010
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