Morning Chop: Braves 7/27
Minor quiets Cards in their return to Atlanta
ATLANTA • Somewhere in the throbbing, tomahawk-chopping, sellout crowd that packed Turner Field on Friday night there were 43 of Adam Wainwright’s friends and family members and many others who bused up from St. Simons Island, Ga., to watch a favorite son pitch against their favorite team.
They came and saw a first for the proud Georgian.
He had never lost a major-league start in his native state.
The first-place Braves, following the lead of lefty Mike Minor, studiously peppered the Cardinals’ ace with enough timely hits for a 4-1 victory and his first loss in four big-league starts in Georgia.
Braves postgame quotes after Friday’s win
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MIKE MINOR
On beating a guy like Wainwright:
"It was huge. I knew it was going to be a close game because he’s a competitor and he had some good stuff tonight. Luckily we got some runs across the board. But yeah, it’s a big win."
On going against first-place team, best offense in NL, Wainwright if feels like he’s an ace or can be an ace:
"I feel like that’s not really my role. I go out there every fifth day and just try to pitch. With Huddy going down, that was our ace. That was our best guy. We just need everybody else to step it up a little bit."
On attacking their lineup, wanting to beat their best with your best:
"It’s like that every game. But we knew they had a good approach, a good approach to the opposite field. Had Jason make some good plays over there for me. And he knew it. Every inning, he came in and was like I’ll be over there, just let them hit it. We’ve seen the numbers. It seems like they can all hit everything so it’s more of we had our own game plan, watching film and me and Mac just worked together."
JASON HEYWARD
On what performance by Minor means for team and staff:
"Mike has been great for us all season. He’s battled. He’s been a great competitor. I feel like our whole staff has. Everybody has kind of had a touch of good luck and bad luck at times, but glad for Mike to come out tonight and throw against a really good offense, a really good team. And he got some run support, got some defense. It wasn’t a blow-out by any means, so it was good for him to be able to feel comfortable in that atmosphere."
On showing your opposite field swing too:
"I got a pitch to hit. He made a mistake there on a change-up away. He was pretty good tonight. He was in the game for over 100 pitches. He didn’t miss a lot tonight. We hit some balls hard and they made some plays and we just came out on top tonight."
FREDI GONZALEZ
On Minor’s outing:
"He was terrific. He really was. Just a change-up that got over the plate a little bit to Molina and other than that, he was nails. In a big stage, facing probably one of the best teams in Major League Baseball, he did a hell of a job for us. And we put the ball in play. Molina goes home run and we come back and score a couple of runs. He was outstanding, he really was."
On Minor growing into an ace-type pitcher:
"Let’s not get there yet. We’ve still got a lot of stuff to go. Mike Minor doesn’t have to do anything and he’s been this good for a while. We saw him growing up and getting better and better this time last year. You look back at some of his starts, let him dictate his own career, and let’s not start putting labels or any of that kind of stuff just yet but he’s a darn good left-handed pitcher right now for us."
Hudson undergoes surgery Friday – updated
Braves veteran right-hander Tim Hudson underwent season-ending surgery on his fractured right ankle Friday afternoon.
The procedure was performed by Braves orthopedic surgeon Dr. Marvin Royster, who repaired a fractured fibula and the deltoid ligament. Hudson is expected to need four months of recovery.
“Tim is out of surgery,” his wife Kim Hudson tweeted about 6 p.m. “Dr. Royster did an amazing job, and everything went well. He’ll be back and better than ever!”
Schafer, B.J. Upton test out leg injuries
ATLANTA — Outfielders B.J. Upton and Jordan Schafer both felt comfortable enough to take the field before Friday’s game and test out their respective leg injuries. While Schafer is still a few weeks away from being able to return from an intraosseous stress fracture in his ankle, B.J. Upton could be back to patrolling center field as early as next week after testing his strained right adductor muscle during an encouraging workout on Friday afternoon.
Holliday returns to Cards as Kelly faces Braves
Atlanta aims to clinch series win with Teheran on the mound
Although he likely would have returned sooner if he could, Matt Holliday’s anticipated comeback comes at a fortuitous time for St. Louis. Out of action since July 11, Holliday is expected to make his return to the lineup on Saturday, in the midst of an 11-day, 10-game road trip in which the Cardinals play three teams fighting for playoff position.