Morning Chop: Atlanta Braves News 4/23
By Jeff Schafer
Tomahawk Take Editorial Note: The Atlanta Braves were smoked last night, not necessarily by another offense but by the pitching of Jose Fernandez. He comes into Turner Field and picks up 14 strikeouts over 8 innings pitched. Steve Cishek comes in for the 9th inning to pick up the save and gets another K. The Braves have 15 k’s Tuesday night.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Heyward RF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .179 | .571 |
| B.J. Upton CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .205 | .582 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .351 | 1.070 |
| Justin Upton LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .303 | .939 |
| Chris Johnson 3B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .267 | .669 |
| Tyler Pastornicky PR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 | .933 |
| Ramiro Pena 3B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .235 | .786 |
| Dan Uggla 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .222 | .616 |
| Evan Gattis C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .286 | .900 |
| Andrelton Simmons SS | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .300 | .811 |
| Alex Wood P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .083 |
| Ryan Doumit PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .143 | .325 |
| David Carpenter P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Team Totals | 30 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15 | .100 | .200 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Wood, L (2-3) | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1.54 |
| David Carpenter | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1.00 |
Wood’s career night not enough vs. Fernandez, Fish
Tomahawk Take Editorial Note: Alex Wood pitched phenomenal on Tuesday but back-to-back hits made the game 1-0 and that’s the way it stayed till the end. Giancarlo Stanton hit a double in the 4th inning followed by a single by Casey McGehee to plate Stanton. Great things out of Wood though, he picked up 11 strikeouts and held the Marlins to only one run off four hits. With Mike Minor and Gavin Floyd luring in the winds to return to the rotation, Alex may have secured his spot.
Apr 22, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Alex Wood (40) throws a runner out at first against the Miami Marlins in the fifth inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Instead of attempting to downplay the significance of the event, Alex Wood openly admitted he was anxiously looking forward to the opportunity to match up against Jose Fernandez. The Braves southpaw has come to believe he has the ability to rise to the occasion when faced with great challenges.
As Wood was verifying this self-assessment on Tuesday night at Turner Field, Fernandez was living up to his billing as the pitcher that everybody — excluding his opponents — wants to see.
Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Anthony Varvaro picks up first victory of season
Tomahawk Take Editorial Note: One night ago, Varvaro picked up his first career win for the Braves. He came in for relief in the 10th inning after Craig Kimbrel gave up the save in the 9th. Varavro retired the Marlins in the top and then Evan Gattis closed the game out in the bottom with a two run home run.
Atlanta Braves right-hander Anthony Varvaro picked up his first victory of the season Monday night with one inning of scoreless relief in a 4-2 triumph over the Miami Marlins in 10 innings.
Varvaro, a Curtis High School and St. John’s product, worked the top of the 10th and benefited from Evan Gattis’ game-ending two-run home run in a game that also featured a Staten Island Sports Hall of Famer in Miami hitting coach Frank Menechino.
Atlanta Braves: The Foundation is Definitely There for Another NL East Run
Tomahawk Take Editorial Note: I add this article because it gives Braves fans hope. After that disappointing performance last night, the Braves turn around today and have another game. That’s why baseball is great, game ends and you clear your head for the next one. As it describes in the article, the Braves have the foundation to make a run this year – let’s hope the injury bug stays far away so we can see this run.
Well if there is one thing we can call a constant in Atlanta, it’s the pitching. The names change, but the results, remarkably, remain the same. This is a franchise that has finished in the Top 10, 10 times in the last 13 years—since 2009 they’ve finished no lower than fourth—so when Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy were lost from the rotation for 2014, Mike Minor was set back almost a month due to offseason surgery, and names like Freddy Garcia and Aaron Harang were being thrown out as replacements, I was worried.
All the Braves rotation has done is go out and lead the league in team ERA (2.40), starter’s ERA (1.54), starter’s WHIP (1.04), and have given up the fewest earned runs (44) in all of Major League Baseball.
Jose Fernandez Baffles the Braves (Grades)
Tomahawk Take Editorial Note: Seems like everyone was covering the dominating performance of Fernandez and why shouldn’t you be. This kid is the real deal and will terrorize the Braves and the NL East for years. I know I’m not and I’m sure the Braves aren’t looking forward to seeing this kid again soon. Most of the time if you struggle against a pitcher you’d like to get another crack at him, but I have a feeling Jose is different.
Jose Fernandez- A+ (It should be an A++)
I’ve already praised Fernandez enough so I’ll just say a few things to finish this up. Fernandez got his first hit of the 2014 season with a small 90 ft. dribbler down the third base line in the top of the fifth. Fernandez had only one inning that went past 20 pitches and that was his last inning. Fernandez turned water into wine and walked across water. Ok the last two weren’t true but I would have believed he did that after tonight.
All in all it was a great night for the team as the Marlins finally won a game on the road and evened the series with the hated Atlanta Braves.