Talking Chop

Another series, another series win. Ho-hum. This one was not without its dramas and frustrations, of course, but the end result is pretty par for the course as far as Braves home series. Games 1, 2, and 4 saw great pitching duels that ended up being decided by 1 run, and game 3 was a very satisfying blowout.

All four Braves starters pitched very well, and as a team the Braves held the Dodgers to only 6 runs in 4 games. Even more impressive, only 1 of those 6 runs scored on a hit (2 scored on an error, 2 on double plays, and 1 on a sac fly). Our pitchers gave up only 7 walks (1 intentional) in the series and only 4 extra-base hits (all doubles). The Dodgers had no hits with runners in scoring position in the series, either. It was just a dominant pitching performance by the Braves' staff. Great job, boys.

The hitting was more uneven, but it was enough to win 3 of the 4 games, and it did feature several clutch hits, notably Brooks Conrad's homer in game 1 and Melky Cabrera's walkoff hit in game 4. With Martin Prado due back soon, hopefully the hitting will pick up a bit. The fielding was also hit-or-miss, but at least we had two nice outfield assists (by Cabrera and Rick Ankiel).

Awards

Braves' Pitching MVPs
Tim Hudson -- 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 14/20 GB (70%), 0.533 WPA
Tommy Hanson -- 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 0.247 WPA
Jair Jurrjens -- 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 0.209 WPA
Derek Lowe -- 6 IP, 10 H, 1 R, 1 BB (1 IBB), 4 K, 15/21 GB (71%), 0.153 WPA

Braves' Hitting MVPs
Melky Cabrera -- 4/12, 2 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, K, 0.557 WPA
Melky was the top Braves' hitter by WPA in the last 3 games; he didn't play in game 1.
Omar Infante -- 8/16, 3B, 4 R, 2 RBI, SB, K, 0.204 WPA
Brooks Conrad -- 4/13, 3 BB, HR, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI, SB, 3 K, 0.196 WPA
Alex Gonzalez -- 3/13, 2 BB, HBP, 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 K, 0.190 WPA
David Ross -- 1/2, BB, R, 2 RBI, 0.168 WPA

Braves' Clutchiest Play
Melky Cabrera's walkoff hit in game 4 (0.479 WPA)

Dodgers' Pitching MVPs
Ted Lilly -- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 0.365 WPA
Chad Billingsley -- 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K, 0.247 WPA
Hiroki Kuroda -- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 BB (1 IBB), 3 K, 0.155 WPA

Dodgers' Hitting MVPs
Scott Podsednik -- 6/14, 2 BB, 2B, 2 R, 2 CS, 2 K, 0.204 WPA
Podsednik led the Dodgers' hitters in WPA in games 1-3.
Jamey Carroll -- 5/11, 2B, 2 SB, K, GIDP, 0.067 WPA
Ryan Theriot -- 5/14, BB, R, sac bunt, K, 0.142 WPA (a lot of that WPA is due to a ROE, though)

Dodgers' Clutchiest Play
Andre Ethier's double in the first inning of game 4 (0.122 WPA), the only RBI hit for the Dodgers in the series.