Morning Chop: Braves 8/3
Aug 2, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Atlanta Braves pitcher Craig Kimbrel (46) delivers to the plate during the ninth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Braves defeated the Phillies 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
A rocky debut for Ethan Martin as Braves top Phillies
Ethan Martin muttered into his glove as he walked off the mound in the fifth inning, his eyes glassy. Teammates gave him consoling pats on the back. After a promising start, he had come undone. In his major-league debut, he allowed six runs. He walked slowly, and the Phillies fans cheered loudly and without irony. Some stood. The Phillies lost to the Braves, 6-4, for their 11th loss in 12 games. The score no longer matters for this team. However briefly, this pitcher who lasted just 4 1/3 innings provided a glimmer of hope.
Salad days
The Braves now have the third best run differential in baseball, outscoring opponents by 112 runs, and the third-best record in the majors, trailing the Pirates and Red Sox by 1/2 a game.
The bad news: B.J. returns tomorrow. The Bad Upton struck out three times tonight in his final rehab appearance at Gwinnett.
Chris Johnson sets Braves record with eighth consecutive multi-hit game
Braves third baseman Chris Johnson went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run in the Braves’ 6-4 victory over the Phillies tonight, marking the eighth consecutive game in which he has had two or more hits. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman confirms that it is a team record since the Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966. Johnson entered the night leading the National League in batting average at .346. Tonight’s performance bumped it up to .347.
Braves’ Craig Kimbrel having another great season — and more brushes with greatness
ATLANTA, Georgia — There he is, on the shelf under the hotel TV, celebrating on the cover of an Atlanta visitors’ magazine and inside, talking about Atlanta traditions like tubing on the Chattahoochee River.
There he is, on the pages of “Sports Illustrated,” answering questions about what gift he’d give the Royal Baby and what TV show he’s best suited for. (Tea and crumpets, and “Survivor,” for the record.)
Craig Kimbrel, the third-year relief pitcher from Huntsville, is clearly becoming the face of the Atlanta Braves.
There Kimbrel was in the Atlanta Braves’ dugout two hours before a recent game in the midst of the Braves’ 7-0 homestand against St. Louis and Colorado. Alongside Kimbrel, who has a league-leading 31 saves, 1.34 ERA and 62 strikeouts of 157 batters faced going into the weekend, was Huntsville Times/al.com columnist Mark McCarter, for this conversation…
Remembering Skip Caray
Five years ago Atlanta Braves fans all across the country mourned the loss of Skip Caray. Take a look at some of the most cherished memories of the man……
The Braves family lost one of its most beloved members on Aug. 3, when Skip Caray passed away at his Atlanta-area home. Caray, who would have celebrated his 69th birthday on Aug. 12, is survived by his wife, Paula, two sons, Chip and Josh, two daughters, Shayelyn and Cindy, and seven grandchildren. “Our baseball community has lost a legend today,” said Braves president John Schuerholz. “The Braves family and Braves fans everywhere will sadly miss him.”