Morning Chop: Braves 7/11
May 15, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA: Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Twitter to help decide Final Vote on final day
Hashtags will count as part of vote total from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET
The race for the 2013 All-Star Game Final Vote is coming down to the wire, and the final six hours of voting will see Twitter transformed into a virtual ballot.
Fans can vote for their candidate using the designated hashtag of that player from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET on Thursday. Those hashtags will count as part of the overall vote total used to determine the final player on the American League and National League All-Star rosters.
Entering the final day of voting, Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman (#VoteFreddie) leads the NL, while Blue Jays reliever Steve Delabar (#RaiseTheBar) is tops in the AL. Dodgers phenom Yasiel Puig (#VotePuig) and Yankees reliever David Robertson (#HighSocksForVotes) sit in second place, respectively.
Maholm’s road woes continue as Braves drop finale
MIAMI — Everything has seemed right with Paul Maholm whenever he has pitched at Turner Field this year. But like many of the rest of his Braves teammates, life on the road has proven to be quite challenging.
Maholm’s road woes were extended as he allowed the Marlins to provide Jacob Turner all the support he needed with the four-run first inning they produced in Wednesday afternoon’s 6-2 win over the Braves at Marlins Park.
Braves quotes after Wednesday’s loss at Miami
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FREDI GONZALEZ
On Maholm
"The game could have gotten out of hand in a heartbeat after he gave up those (four first-inning) runs, but he kept it right there. We battled back and made it a two-run game, you feel pretty good that we’ve got a chance. Then they added two runs there late in the eight inning. But I thought after the first inning, he settled down a little bit and tried to go as long as he could."
On Beachy’s 3-inning rehab start in Triple-A on Tuesday (3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 29/45)
"Good. Velocity was good, reports were really good. Normal velocity. He’ll end up meeting us tomorrow back home, throw a ‘pen either tomorrow or the next day, then go from there."
PAUL MAHOLM
On his rough start to the game
"In the bullpen (warming up) I was kind of off, fighting it. Obviously in the inning I wasn’t in rhythm, throwing well. Stanton’s the only one who hit the ball hard, and it wasn’t even supposed to be a strike. The first inning was what it was. I was fighting it, they capitalized. Walking the first hitter of the game, and getting some hits here and there. Obviously you battle as hard as you can. I foul one off my foot, take a line drive or one-hopper that hits both my knees. Laird tries to foul one back at me. The next at-bat, I foul one off the my. So it was a tough day. Obviously we would have liked to get the sweep. We won the series. Hopefully we can finish up, go in the All-Star break pretty well when we go home."
FREDDIE FREEMAN
On Jacob Turner
On the 3-3 trip
"I never thought we’d ever win another road trip — (he was joking) — so at least we came and tied it up. But we played a little better on the road, so hopefully after the All-Star break we can get in there and get some wins on the road."
Gattis impressive in batting practice, progressing toward return
One after another, balls rocketed off Evan Gattis’ bat Wednesday morning, at least a dozen landing far beyond the fences at Marlins Park.
It was the Braves rookie’s first rounds of batting practice since straining an oblique just over three weeks ago, but you wouldn’t have known from watching, or hearing the familiar thunderous crack of the ball off his bat.
Report: Jay-Z wants to represent Puig
In light of the recent run to try and ensure it’s Freddie Freeman in the ASG instead of Puig, here at Tomahawk Take we find it quite interesting that Jay-Z now is looking to try and represent Puig. Represent what? His hopes of getting into the ASG? Why the sudden interest?
Rapper, music producer and newly minted agent Jay-Z is interested in representing the 22-year-old outfielder, Yahoo! Sports reported Wednesday. The player and the mogul met in mid-June at a New York club owned by Jay-Z, and Puig emerged interested in the possibilities Roc Nation Sports could offer him in terms of lifestyle and marketing, according to the report.