Sunday Morning Chop: Braves 7/7
Jul 6, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Tim Hudson (15) throws a pitch against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Braves defeated the Phillies, 13-4. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Braves’ power helps Hudson end drought
PHILADELPHIA — After providing Tim Hudson limited run support over the past few weeks, the Braves gave the veteran pitcher all that he needed to comfortably cruise toward his first win in more than two months.
Brian McCann notched his 10th career four-hit performance and Dan Uggla hit one of the three home runs that allowed Hudson to guide the Braves to a 13-4 win over the Phillies on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Braves quotes after Saturday’s rout of Phillies
AJC.com (Subscription Section)
TIM HUDSON
On his outing
"I felt pretty good. It’s always nice when you get some runs early and are able to be a lot more aggressive in the zone. Guys came out swinging and had some really good at-bats. I was able to wiggle out of a couple of jams and limit them to one run. It’s usually not that easy against these guys. These guys can be really tough at times. But like I said, it makes my job a little easier when we’re able to put up some crooked numbers."
On ending his winless drought
"A (10) game stretch is a long time to not get a win, for anybody. Granted, there’s been times when I’ve crapped down my leg in these (10) games and didn’t deserve a win. And there’s been some times where I just came across some tough luck. Tonight’s a night where everything came together. It was nice to finally get on the board in the right column."
FREDI GONZALEZ
On Hudson
"He pitched great. Gave us seven innings of good baseball on a tough night to pitch, with the humidity up where it was. And we swung the bats, gave him a nice lead. It was a good night. Lot of guys swung the bats really well. With men in scoring position, we left some runners on base in the first and second innings, and I’m thinking, it’s going to be one of those nights. But then we turned it around. We gave him a lead, and every time we added runs he went back out there and shut the (Phillies) down. That’s a good sign."
JASON HEYWARD
On the offense having a few games recently with a lot of hits
"It’s coming, man. We get some big hits from Dan lately. Again, Simba (Simmons) started us off there with the leadoff homer, which is good, of course, for Huddy. Everybody going up there tonight and getting a knock, that’s huge. Regardless of how many runs they drove in. To go up there and get a knock, have good ABs, have baserunners, make their bullpen come in and throw, and we got some good pitches to hit from their bullpen. We were really selective there. If we made outs, we just missed them. Kind of what you get, the finished product of good ABs and timely hitting."
BRIAN McCANN
On his own performance, matching career-high with four hits, average up to .293
"I feel good. I’ve felt really good basically all year. I mean, I had a two-week period where I didn’t feel good, but when I first got here (off the DL) I felt great. I had a two-week period where things weren’t good, and the last week or so I’ve been feeling really good at the dish."
Memorable night for Braves rookie ‘Joey T’ and dad
Also from AJC.com
PHILADELPHIA – Joey Terdoslavich got his first hit in his second major league at-bat Friday night, and the Braves rookie got to share the moment with the person he most wanted to have there. His father, Joe.
“It was definitely a cool experience, especially with my dad here,” said Terdoslavich, who hit a sharp single to right field off Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon with two out in the ninth inning. “He was sitting behind the dugout. I looked over at the dugout, looked above it and saw him, he was really excited.
“To get the hit was special, but to look up and see how excited he was, was just as special, if not more.
Atlanta Braves Only Get One All-Star: What Does the Lack of Stars Say About Their Title Chances?
By Anthony Schreiber | Yahoo! Contributor Network
Call the Atlanta Braves the Rodney Dangerfield of major league baseball, because they simply have not gotten any respect. Despite having the largest lead of any first place team in baseball, the Braves were wildly snubbed at the polls for the 2013 MLB All-Star Game. Craig Kimbrel was selected as Atlanta’s one and only representative this year. Given the lack of Braves’ talent deemed worthy enough to be called the best of the best, what exactly does this say about Atlanta’s chances to contend for a World Series title come October?
[Editorial Comment] What exactly does this say about Atlanta’s chances to contend for a World Series title come October? Nothing. Because it’s still largely a popularity contest, only Kimbrel making it as an All Star says absolutely NOTHING about the Braves’ chances for a title in October. And for the record, Anthony doesn’t think so either. *Chris now steps down off his soapbox*