Atlanta Braves Win “One Point In This Season It’s Going To Happen”

Game two of the Miami Marlins, Atlanta Braves series was on Tuesday night with a roof closed environment in Miami.  Julio Teheran took the ball for the Braves as Henderson Alvarez stood on the mound for Miami.

The Braves got to Alvarez first as Freddie Freeman (#VoteFreddie) got things started in the top of the 2nd inning with a leadoff double to right and later in the inning B.J. Upton drove in the first run of the game with a sac fly.  B.J. added a couple more hits (2-3 Tuesday) which was his second multi hit game on July…though he only had five hits in eight games, but his swing actually looks better and is hitting the ball hard.

Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

“I’m just trying to keep things simple.”  B.J. Upton said after the game.  “I think it’s (my swing) been pretty close, I’m swinging the bat a lot better than what I started.  I feel pretty good up there right now and hopefully I can keep it strong going into the All-Star break.”

“B.J. only got two hits but he hit the ball hard every time up, every time he hit the ball hard”  Manager Fredi Gonzalez spoke on B.J.’s performance post game.

But the game wasn’t easy from the first run scored.  In the bottom of the 2nd inning, the Marlins showed signs of competition.  Justin Upton missed played a Logan Morrison single and then Chris Johnson comment an error, causing the Marlins to be 1st and 2nd no outs.

Teheran then pitched off Logan Morrison at 2nd base to get the first out of the inning…spectacular pick off by the way!  But later in the inning, after a Adeiny Hechavarria single, Rob Brantly hits a three run home run to right field.  Marlins up 3-1.

“It was a big mistake that I made but I was just trying to keep my head and try to keep the team in the game” Teheran said post game to the media.

With his pitch count increasing quickly, Teheran decided to changing his pitching style so that he could keep the Braves from having to use the bullpen arm’s again after the 14 inning game on Monday.

Teheran spoke about this in the post game “I was just trying to make pitches.  I wasn’t trying to, like I did last game, get deep in the count, I was just trying to get a head of hitters and thats what I did.”

Julio went deep into the game, actually getting to the 8th inning as he went 7 1/3 while only throwing 95 pitches, giving up seven hits, four runs, only one earned run, two walks and three strike outs to pick up his seventh win of 2013.

“I was just trying to make them put the ball in play and let them hit.  I knew they were swinging so just had to make pitches and they hit ground balls and fly balls”  Teheran said.

Fredi Gonzalez spoke on Teheran “Julio did a terrific job after that second inning….we put him behind the eight ball a little bit.  But I think he did a good job of minimizing his pitches the rest of the game.  I think he ended with around mid 90’s pitches (95 pitches thrown) but after that 2nd inning I was thinking we’ve got to get him out of here after the 5th or 6th but he did a hell of a job getting us deep in the ball game.”

The Upton brothers were the key to success on Tuesday as Justin went 3-5 with two RBI’s and three runs scored and he blasted his 16th home run of the season.  And B.J. added his two hits…could this be the start of something we’ve dreamed of since January??

B.J. talked about his swing “The things I’m working on in the cages feel great and now it’s just a thing of getting them translated to the field.”

He continued “It’s been a lot of fun and when have the potential to all start clicking at the same time, we have a lot of hard working guys on this team, and one point in this season it’s going to happen.”

Brian McCann added a two RBI single in the third inning to tie the game at the time.  And everyone in the starting lineup on Tuesday, except for Dan Uggla, got at least one hit.

“This is a long season, we are always wishing for more but there will be some ups and downs but you’ve got to be patient with these guys…they will be fine”  Gonzalez said.

The Atlanta Braves hold a six game lead over Washington and a 7 1/2 over Philadelphia.