Morning Chop: Atlanta Braves News 5/2/14
Apr 25, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves second baseman Dan Uggla (26) attempts to make a catch against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Swept? Yes it happens! Swept by the Miami Marlins? Yes, that happens to Atlanta often, despite putting three of our best pitchers on the mound. All three of them hiccuped unusually, but then the offense didn’t help much either. Every team goes through some of these periods, and it’s certainly no reason to panic. Check out the boxscores from the final game of the Braves, Marlins series, courtesy of Baseball Reference.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OPS | Pit | Str | PO | A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Heyward RF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .206 | .600 | 21 | 11 | 2 | 0 | |
| B.J. Upton CF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | .214 | .620 | 19 | 10 | 3 | 0 | HR,SB |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .305 | .921 | 19 | 15 | 8 | 2 | |
| Justin Upton LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .323 | 1.030 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2B |
| Evan Gattis C | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .286 | .910 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 0 | HR |
| Dan Uggla 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .194 | .538 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 6 | |
| Chris Johnson 3B | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .255 | .641 | 17 | 13 | 0 | 1 | |
| Jordan Schafer PR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .176 | .516 | SB | ||||
| Anthony Varvaro P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Luis Avilan P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Andrelton Simmons SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .280 | .769 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 0 | GDP |
| Ervin Santana P | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .214 | .429 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ian Thomas P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| David Carpenter P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Ramiro Pena PH-3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .227 | .701 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 35 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 7 | .257 | .790 | 135 | 90 | 24 | 9 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | BF | Pit | Str | Ctct | StS | StL | GB | FB | LD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ervin Santana | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2.41 | 26 | 92 | 57 | 23 | 14 | 20 | 7 | 11 | 6 |
| Ian Thomas, H (2), L (1-1) | 0.1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 3 | 15 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| David Carpenter, BS (1) | 0.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.45 | 4 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Anthony Varvaro | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.38 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Luis Avilan | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.04 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 8 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 5.62 | 37 | 133 | 84 | 41 | 14 | 29 | 12 | 16 | 8 |
You might not think there are any positives from a series where you get swept, but David Miller of Rant Sports believes there are some. Check out what he has to say…
5 Positives From Atlanta Braves Getting Swept by Miami Marlins
"Any time a team that has been one of the best teams in MLB like the Atlanta Braves gets swept by a team that has struggled like the Miami Marlins, it is a big story. The Braves certainly have quite a few things they can look to improve upon after this past sweep but even in this situation all is not negative. Here are 5 positive things that the Braves can take away from the series in Miami."
Sign stealing going on during the Braves, Marlins series? Mike Oz of Yahoo Sports’ Big League Stew takes a look at the intrigue..
The Grand Slam: Braves get swept by Marlins, think something is fishy
"The Atlanta Braves dropped their third straight to the Miami Marlins on Thursday — a 5-4 game, sealed by a seventh-inning rally that included RBI singles from Giancarlo Stanton and Casey McGehee.In all, the Marlins outscored the Braves 23-7 in the series, a development that, frankly, was baffling to the Braves. The Marlins (14-14) have a reputation for losing and the Braves (17-10) are in first in the NL East, so you can see how this would confound the Tomahawk Choppers."
Mike Minor is scheduled to make his 2014 debut on Friday as the Braves take on the San Francisco Giants. Joe Morgan of MLB takes a look at what we might expect from Minor’s return…
Minor set for ’14 debut as Braves welcome Giants
"After a successful bullpen session on Tuesday afternoon, Braves left-hander Mike Minor will make his long-awaited season debut on Friday against the Giants. He joins what has been one of the best rotations in the Majors, as Atlanta returns home from a brief trip to Miami.‘We just wanted to make sure [Minor] is healthy and that he feels good,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said Tuesday. “You always want to err on that side. He looks good. So we’ll pencil him in there for Friday.’"
When it comes to Dan Uggla of the Atlanta Braves, for most of his stint with the club, he’s been loved, but now you find those still hanging on to that love, and you find haters. Should the Braves go on and get rid of Dan? Brad Rowland looks at reasons for and against…
"Reasons for:If he doesn’t, Fredi will keep trotting him out there every day.No one is going to take him off your hands. Drop that fantasy.It’s classic addition by subtraction. You won’t find a worse everyday player in baseball. Hell, in all of sports."