Braves Reach 90 Wins

It may not have been the prettiest offensive performance of the season, but the Braves won their 90th game last night, beating the Marlins 3-0.  Unfortunately, the Phillies could not beat the Nationals,  so the Braves are still four back in the division, further lowering the chance of a division title.

• Paul Maholm excelled in all three main categories last night for the first time in a few starts.  He walked none and struck out six in 6.2 IP, getting 58% groundballs, good for a 1.31 FIP and 2.40 xFIP.
• On the other side, Josh Johnson struggled with his command over his six innings, five walks with one of those intentional to Freddie Freeman.  The bullpen provided two perfect innings to keep the Marlins in the game.
• Martin Prado was the offensive star of the game, hitting a first inning solo homer and an RBI single in the 3rd to score Jose Constanza, who was starting for Michael Bourn, still out with a thumb problem.  The Braves scored their other run on a botched suicide squeeze, as Maholm missed the bunt but catcher John Buck couldn’t catch the pitch, letting Dan Uggla in.
• It was not a good night to be a catcher at the plate.  Buck had a golden sombrero, 0-4 with 4 K’s, while Brian McCann struck out three times, but managed to squeeze a hit in.

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