Derek Lowe, yes, that Derek Lowe had arguably his best start as a Brave since Opening Day 2009, and was filthy from the first pitch of the game. Lowe went 8 innings on Monday night and struck out 12 Nationals, and didn't walk anyone for his 2nd straight start. Lowe only gave up one extra-base hit on the night (a Nyjer Morgan double), and continually painted the outside corner from the start. As a matter of fact, Morgan was the only National to reach 2nd base tonight.
The Braves offense didn't do too much on Monday, but they were helped greatly by two balks in the 2nd inning by starter Yunesky Maya. The first balk moved Brian McCann and Derrek Lee into scoring position, and then the 2nd balk drove BMac in from 3rd. The red-hot Nate McLouth then doubled down the right field line to score Lee from 3rd, and the Braves had an early 2-0 lead. Matt Diaz then tripled off of Maya, and Omar Infante drove him in with a little flare into center field. The Braves scored all four runs in the 2nd inning, and that's all they would need.
Billy Wagner came into the game in relief of Lowe, and was absolutely filthy. He made quick work of the Nats final three hitters, and struck out all of them with a slider in the dirt. Combine his three strikeouts with Lowe's, and you have a grand total of 15 for the night. (That's some Joe Morgan math for 'ya!)
All-in-all, a pretty great night in front of a small Monday night crowd.
I guess if there was any down side to the game was Jason Heyward not extending his hitting streak to 11 games, but still managed to reach base in two of his four at-bats. Besides that, there's really nothing to complain about.
The Marlins continue to be absolutely worthless and are getting pounded by the Phillies, so we still trail by a game in the East. The annoying Rockies are currently losing to the Padres, and the Giants are off, so we could gain some ground in the Wild Card race tonight. Not that we're aiming for that or anything, though.
It'll be Jair Jurrjens against Livan Hernandez tomorrow night at 7:10. Be there.
0 recs | 84 comments
It should be “made”. Though it was madly awesome.
Joseph_C - September 13, 2010
It was mad quick, too.
Sam Jethroe - September 14, 2010
12 k's this is why we traded for him
southman - September 13, 2010
Swing and a miss...
J-Freak - September 13, 2010
Fail.
kauf67 - September 13, 2010
how is that a fail?
southman - September 14, 2010
Really?
Pavy848 - September 14, 2010
"traded for him"
fail
Mr. Sanchez - September 14, 2010
we signed him as a Free Agent didn't we?
southman - September 14, 2010
now you got it. You don’t “trade” for free agents.
Mr. Sanchez - September 14, 2010
I never knew he was one
even we we acquired him I didn’t know
southman - September 14, 2010
Now do it 5 or 6 more times please Lowe before the end of 2010....
then maybe he’d be traded.
Mr. Sanchez - September 14, 2010
Congratuations to Lowe and his Career High of 12Ks!
And his 1500th as well. It was a joy to watch it happen.
NCChopper - September 13, 2010
What Lowe and Wagner did to the Nationals tonight just wasn't fair....
I loved it, though.
EricGreggWasPaidOff - September 13, 2010
…..but you added the two numbers correctly.
EricGreggWasPaidOff - September 13, 2010
+1
J-Freak - September 13, 2010
Congrats mvhsbball!
One win under your belt in this series! Here’s hoping for a sweep to make your season numbers look better!
UpstateNyBravesFan - September 13, 2010
24-25
and I only have one series left after this one…and it’s against the Nationals.
Scott Coleman - September 13, 2010
Kenshin has 1 win too...
don’t congratulate him. He’s a proven loser.
Mr. Sanchez - September 14, 2010
Ouch…..
Joseph_C - September 14, 2010
Blasted Rockies. How do they always manage to charge back and be a thorn in everyone’s side every damn September? They always look out of it from April to August, then surprise!
Let’s go Padres, I guess.
J-Freak - September 13, 2010
Great performance by Lowe. We really needed a strong pitching performance after the recent let downs by Huddy and Jurrjens. I do think Lowe is better than people here give him credit for. He’s not worth the 15 million but he’s actually kept us in most ballgames that he’s started, giving us a chance to win. Definitely not a guy we desperately need to get rid of as a lot are proclaiming.
chopc - September 13, 2010
Lowe is the man
Bob Mackie - September 13, 2010
Maybe we should align Lowe
to face the Phillies?
DreamWithinADream - September 13, 2010
with a day like today,
why not?
southman - September 13, 2010
I'd look up Lowe's record vs the Phils in big games were I you
Don’t get me wrong, I’d LOVE for them to face Lowe, not trolling. Just saying, Hudson scares us Phans. Not D-Lowe. That being said, hell of a performance for the big guy tonight.
Chutley's Impressed by Mac's Speed - September 13, 2010
Eh define "big game"
It’s probably not too good since you’re bringing it up. But I don’t know, Huddy’s been mortal his past 3 outings. Right now it’s
Jurrjens v. Hamels
Minor v. Halladay
Hanson v. Oswalt.
You probably won’t face Huddy. That will take some maneuvering.
DreamWithinADream - September 13, 2010
Stretch-Run or Postseason
But looking at the line up now, here are my initial thoughts:
1. Cholly tweaking everything so that you guys see H2O TWICE = HUGE respect
Jurrjens… Phils can get to him, but have also been periodically owned by him.
Hanson… similar, but to Jurrjens.
Minor…. He’s a rookie without a lot of experience, which means he will no-hit the Phillies into the 8th inning.
I like out 1-3 a great deal. It will depend entirely on which offense shows up to face you guys… the World Beaters who can hit anyone and make Murderer’s Row look like pussies…. or Mo Vaughn and the K-9’s.
It’ll be interesting, that’s for sure.
Chutley's Impressed by Mac's Speed - September 13, 2010
Hanson – similar, but less of an uncertainty compared to Jurrjens*
Chutley's Impressed by Mac's Speed - September 13, 2010
H2O?
DreamWithinADream - September 14, 2010
Nvm
Halladay, Hamels, Oswalt got it
DreamWithinADream - September 14, 2010
Yeah, I know...
from a purely nickname-ish standpoint, I liked it when we had JA Happ, just because the 10-year-old Wrestling fan in me couldn’t resist “Triple H.”
Needless to say, I’m thrilled with how Oswalt’s worked out for us so far, and despite being a good kid with a live arm and some upside, it’s all but a mortal lock that Happ will never develop into the kind of pitcher Roy is, so I’m more than happy to settle for a less than thrilling rotational nickname.
Chutley's Impressed by Mac's Speed - September 14, 2010
Oswalt really has turned out great for you guys.
But before you get too excited, look at his career stats against the Braves (7GS, 0-3, 7.58ERA, .354BAA) and at Turner Field (5GS, 0-1, .697ERA, .341BAA). Not to say he can’t break out in either game he should face the Braves, and he hasn’t faced them this year (amazingly), but there it is…
Old Braves' Fan - September 14, 2010
Excellent Point
Then again, you guys have always ate up our aces (I was at Lee’s first bad start last year where you guys shelled him in a rain-shortened game).
Chutley's Impressed by Mac's Speed - September 14, 2010
How have y'all done against Wagner...
the biggest difference between us, imo, is the bullpen, not the rotation. We both have starters that on any given night can go out and give you that 8 strong innings 1 through 5. But when the starter goes just 6, I’ll take our chances with your bullpen.
Mr. Sanchez - September 14, 2010
Truth...
The only qualifier I’d add is that Halladay is his own bullpen.
-C
cthabeerman - September 14, 2010
This
Pavy848 - September 14, 2010
I was hoping he wouldn't pitch well at CPB
but there’s no denying that he’s one of the better pitchers of the last 25 years or so.
Scott Coleman - September 14, 2010
Truth
The “Little League park” reputation CBP has gotten is somewhat unfair, especially when you examine the stats – It’s consistently ranked in the middle of the pack for homers given up and most of our bats have more homers on the road than in Philly. All that aside, however, there’s no denying that on a hot, humid night where the wind is driving out, a ball hit high enough has an excellent chance to go out. There’s a reason why the Phils have invested so much in sinker-ballers of late.
Chutley's Impressed by Mac's Speed - September 14, 2010
Which Wagner?
Before his resurgence this year, we killed him (although it was mostly Pat the Bat).
This year, you could power Atlanta with all the wind generated by our swings-and-misses.
I think they could still hit him, but right now he’s in their heads so I’m hoping it doesn’t come down to that.
Chutley's Impressed by Mac's Speed - September 14, 2010
Final series versus the Phillies will be epic
BeatTehMets - September 13, 2010
Hope so
DreamWithinADream - September 13, 2010
im more hoping
we sweep them the 1st series and somehow are 4 games in front by that final set so it wont matter
drumzalicious - September 13, 2010
That would be ideal
But wouldn’t it be something if they were tied going into the last series? Talk about pressure.
DreamWithinADream - September 14, 2010
As a Phils fan, we’re hoping you guys catch a couple of bad games and that we can save some heart muscle as well, but I long ago faced the (terrible for us Atlanta & Philadelphia residents who hope to live past 60, fantastic for MLB in general) reality of the situation.. If you don’t think it’s coming down to a breathless, cardiac-inducing, hair-losing final series, you’re out of your mind.
Chutley's Impressed by Mac's Speed - September 14, 2010
Mclouth is hitting good at home during all the season
in 96 AB .271 AVG .903 OPS
he has a home/away split like CarGo
joshant - September 13, 2010
Good god you’re right… we should never play him away from home! EVER! haha
SuperHeyward - September 13, 2010
Watching replays of Derek’s K’s, and the lateral movement of his slider was absolutely SICK. Pitches looked to be coming in 6-10" off the plate and sweeping across the outside/inside corners.
DuPu - September 13, 2010
He was definitely an ace tonight.
Joseph_C - September 13, 2010
Gameday also gives some pretty hefty credit to the umpire tonight, lots of wide strikes that probably weren’t.
Perrinbar - September 13, 2010
This is true
but kudos to Lowe for recognizing it and taking advantage of it
DreamWithinADream - September 13, 2010
this
true sign of an ace. Not necessarily calling Lowe an ace but to utilize the ump’s zone is part of dominating
traphicg - September 14, 2010
Maybe he has Saito need....
give him an extra rest day….time to bring up another AAA arm for a spot start?….Minor last start was forgetable….wish we could play the Cubs again?
bravestatoo - September 13, 2010
Amazing game. Lowe pitched great and Wagner didn’t do too bad himself. If Lowe continues to pitch like this, then we have a greater chance to make the playoffs and find a taker in the offseason. This is great
Braves24 - September 13, 2010
we could really use a good lowe down the stretch
gtbravesfan - September 13, 2010
what are the Mets Pirates and Rays Yankees playing?
both game 0-0 in extra
joshant - September 13, 2010
The former
is a pair of teams who are turrble.
The latter is a pair of great teams.
DreamWithinADream - September 13, 2010
Rays win on Brignac HR
Move into sole possession of first place
DreamWithinADream - September 13, 2010
in you'r face Donkees
southman - September 14, 2010
Badres
give up 4 in the 5th to allow Rockies to pull within one.
DreamWithinADream - September 13, 2010
No lead is save at Coors
joshant - September 13, 2010
Surprise
CarGo and Tulo have all 4 RBIs
DreamWithinADream - September 13, 2010
we know all about that
southman - September 14, 2010
I'm watching now
and I’m just waiting for the 2-run HR any second…
Scott Coleman - September 13, 2010
Wow…Adrian Gonzalez just saved an RBI-triple.
Scott Coleman - September 13, 2010
Not to rain on the parade, but...
Our offense still needs to wake up. I’m sure it will happen soon. Nasty Nate is just a foreshadowing. Before you know it, Brandon Hicks will start hitting bombs.
But seriously, not winning in these situations has really started to worry me:
1) On the road
2) Against horrible pitchers
3) Against teams we should beat (although this has probably been magnified recently)
I have faith we can turn this around. This team looks primed for a streak.
ryantex - September 13, 2010
So maybe
we should skip a Huddy start to get him back on track then?
I mean it worked for Lowe. Plus we all know Hudson was supposed to actually be on an innings limit this year.
drumzalicious - September 13, 2010
Tonight Lowe gets the
ChitownBravos - September 14, 2010
I Google searched ‘dead seal’ to put up an example of a ‘seal of disapproval’, but I cried instead.
frozendesert - September 14, 2010
Lowe dealing and Nate swinging a hot bat.
Me am feeling like me might in World Bizarro be. Me think hang, me can.
Sam Jethroe - September 14, 2010
MVHS
How about that Austin Collie?
frozendesert - September 14, 2010
Can he play defense, or perhaps be our new defensive coordinator?
Scott Coleman - September 14, 2010 via mobile
Well
maybe not, but that’s pretty impressive for a fourth-round pick.
frozendesert - September 14, 2010
In all seriousness, Collie looked great and he’ll be solid in the slot. Very similar to B-Stoke. I do think we should trade him or Garcon for a middle round pick though, or even Wayne for a #1. Our defense is trash.
Scott Coleman - September 14, 2010 via mobile
Also
Are you getting Yellow Pages ads in the margins here at TC? I feel like I’m on a freakin’ Pirates blog.
frozendesert - September 14, 2010
Yeah. I think SBNation finally sold out. Ah well, it’s free…guess some sacrifices had to be made.
!Vive la Francoeur! - September 14, 2010
i’m using the ad blocker for mozilla and i don’t see anything new
Bravely going forward - September 14, 2010
Me too, I never see any of the ads. Just TC content :-)
NCChopper - September 14, 2010
Lord yes. It's blinding.
Sarahbeth - September 14, 2010
"I need help" -Lowe
"Without Roger’s help today, today would have never happened. We put a lot of time in before the game. I didn’t want to sound defeated when I told Roger, ‘I need help. My game plan over the last three years isn’t working.’ We watched a lot of video about what I could do differently. I had to write everything down because I knew I’d forget. See my cheat seat. I sat down with Mac and he was completely on board. It was fun to have a game plan that I’ve never used before and see it work. It was a win that we needed to have. We got some early runs which always helped. That’s about the best game I’ve pitched in a long time."
-Post game comments from D Lowe
I’ve been down on Lowe for the past year or so, but after this game and after those comments, I feel a lot better. Here’s hoping he keeps at it!
award6 - September 14, 2010
I respected his blatant honesty and humbleness in that interview. I am happy for him and his performance last night.
NCChopper - September 14, 2010
That game seemed like it lasted maybe an hour and a half.
Stick with that gameplan, Lowe.
Chief Noc-A-Homa - September 14, 2010
2:20ish
I commented on how short it was last night.
EricGreggWasPaidOff - September 14, 2010
I would like to see us score in more than 1 inning tonight.
I know it was enough last night, but we never scored after the 2nd inning and even not all of that was our doing (the Balks by the opposing pitcher).
We tend to have 1 inning early in some games where we score and then stop, which concerns me a bit.
NCChopper - September 14, 2010
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