Braves Win DH, Lose Tough Wednesday Game In Colorado

After losing three games in a row and four out of five games the Atlanta Braves headed to one of the hottest teams in baseball.  But ironically, it was one of the coldest series the Braves have ever played in.

When Atlanta rolled into Colorado, they came to see a fresh white powder of snow on the ground.  The game on Monday was snowed out and probably the day off was a good thing to recollect their thoughts and have needed rest.  But the off day wasn’t a quiet one at all for Atlanta…as the return of Freddie Freeman from the 15-day DL was suppose to happen and Dan Uggla was returning to the lineup after fighting a calf injury.  But the larger story line on Monday was the Jason Heyward appendectomy surgery.

Apr 23, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Atlanta Braves left fielder Justin Upton (8) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the first inning of the game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

After the madness on Monday, the Colorado field workers played their part and worked extremely hard to clear the field of snow to be able to play a double header on Tuesday in temperatures in the 20’s.  Even with the temperatures being the coldest ever to have a game played in Colorado’s history, the Braves took care of business in game 1.  Justin Upton, Dan Uggla and Evan Gattis all hit home runs in game 1 to give the braves a 4-3 win.  In game 2 we saw the “Bash Brothers” Justin and B.J. Upton hit back to back home runs as this was the first time since 1938 that big league brothers had gone back to back in 75 years.  The only other players to do so were Hall of Famers Lloyd Waner and Paul Waner of the Pirates.

“They (B.J. and Justin) make your lineup a lot better,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said.  “For me, Justin is your No. 3 hitter.  It doesn’t matter who’s on the mound that night, he’s No. 3 and he fills that void.  Boy, has he had a great April so far.”

“I’m a mean little brother,” Justin joked. “It’s always cool when you can see him have success before you and then you go and do the same thing. It was definitely cool, and for us to tack on those runs we needed, it was nice.”

Then on Wednesday afternoon Tim Hudson took the mound looking again for his 200th career win.  He threw six innings giving up three earned runs but was in line for the win heading into the 9th inning up 5-3.  When Craig Kimbrel showed up on the mound, everyone foresaw a ninth save in 2013 for Kimbrel and the 200th win for Hudson except for the Rockies.  As Dexter Fowler hit a two RBI double off the left field wall to tie the game.  And then in the bottom of the 12th inning Yorvit Torrealba hit a walk off RBI single scoring Wilin Rosario off Luis Ayala.

Now, an off day on Thursday then a three game series with the Detroit Tigers.  If all goes as scheduled, the Braves will miss a Justin Verlander appearance as he will pitch on Thursday.  It looks like for now the Braves will face Anibal Sanchez, Rick Porcello and Doug Fister.