“It Should Be In The Rule Book” Atlanta Braves Fall

Jul 3, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves center fielder

(2) reacts to a strike out in the ninth inning against the Miami Marlins at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

One of the first things I remember after taking my first steps onto my high school baseball field was my coach yelling at all of our pitchers to “never walk the pitcher”!!!  Those words were stuck in the brains of so many, we even wrote the saying inside of our lockers with a sharpie so we couldn’t forget.

On Wednesday night Mike Minor did what no pitcher should ever do and he paid the price for it.  Minor issued a two-out walk to pitcher Ricky Nolasco in the fifth inning and then the next batter, Justin Ruggiano would hit a three run home run to give the Miami Marlins the lead 3-2, and they never looked back.

After the game Fredi Gonzalez spoke about the home run “If it’s not, it should be in the rule book to not walk the pitcher.”

It’s kind of like intentionally walking a hitter and that next hitter wants to show you up so much that it could be the at bat of a lifetime and he takes it over the fence.  The feeling the hitter gets when the pitcher walks the guy in front of him just to get to him.  As I’m writing this, I’m reliving those moments…I recall gripping the bat each tight because the pitcher thought I was a worse hitter than the guy ahead of me in the order….later did I show him as I crushed a ball to left.  OK, back to the story, I got carried away with my own heroism there….

After a rain drenched night at Turner Field, Minor claimed in the post game that it was difficult to grip the ball and that could of been the cause of the walk and home run….but he did strike out the two previous batters.

Minor after the game “I’m not saying at all it was just the rain and that’s why I gave up the hits or gave up the walk.  It could have gone either way if it wasn’t raining.  In that particular inning, it was tough for me to grip the ball and I couldn’t get comfortable.”

After the home run that put the Marlins up, the Braves tried to rally in the 9th with a lead off single by Freddie Freeman and later an RBI single by Chris Johnson but couldn’t get a huge hit from pinch hitter Tyler Pastornicky as he grounded out to the pitcher to end the game 6-3.

The Braves are back at it today on July 4th as Julio Teheran takes the mound against Henderson Alvarez.  Games first pitch is at 7:10pm ET depending on the weather….what are we living in Seattle with all this rain everyday????

Happy 4th of July, hopefully your able to spend time with family and friends and possibly some grilling action.