Morning Chop: Atlanta Braves News 5/10/14
May 9, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves players celebrate with first baseman
Freddie Freeman(center) after he delivered the game winning hit against the Chicago Cubs during the tenth inning at Turner Field. The Braves defeated the Cubs 3-2 in ten innings. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
My, the ebb and flow! My how a baseball team’s fortunes can turn with the tide this time of year. The Braves are back in the lead in the NL East, but it hasn’t been pretty, and the walk-off win against Chicago, while exciting and morale building, isn’t the kind of win we need to see Atlanta achieving. We need to see runs scored, and preferably more than 2 or 3! Check out the boxcores from last night’s victory, courtesy of Baseball Reference.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OPS | Pit | Str | PO | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Heyward RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .211 | .606 | 19 | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| Justin Upton LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .293 | .949 | 23 | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .321 | .930 | 22 | 13 | 8 | 0 |
| Evan Gattis C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .265 | .797 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 1 |
| Chris Johnson 3B | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .262 | .625 | 15 | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| B.J. Upton CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .205 | .604 | 19 | 14 | 2 | 0 |
| Andrelton Simmons SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .263 | .710 | 18 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
| Julio Teheran P | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .105 | .211 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| Craig Kimbrel P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Ryan Doumit PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .171 | .366 | 8 | 5 | ||
| Alex Wood P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .143 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Ramiro Pena 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .205 | .672 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 |
| Team Totals | 36 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 9 | .250 | .558 | 161 | 104 | 30 | 8 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | BF | Pit | Str | Ctct | StS | StL | GB | FB | LD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julio Teheran | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 1.71 | 26 | 105 | 64 | 34 | 16 | 14 | 5 | 10 | 2 |
| Craig Kimbrel, BS (2) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.70 | 6 | 24 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Alex Wood, W (3-5) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.93 | 4 | 22 | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Team Totals | 10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 1.80 | 36 | 151 | 93 | 51 | 19 | 23 | 9 | 13 | 4 |
I’ve been saying this for awhile now, and predicted a sort of break-out year for Julio Teheran, but while a few days old, this report by Carl Buscheck of Bleacher Report is still very relevant! He believes Teheran is the most under-rated player on the Braves’ team. That’s changing though! Check out Carl’s thoughts…
The Most Underrated Player on Every MLB Team
"It’s easy to forget that Julio Teheran is still just 23 years old. After all, the right-hander debuted for the Atlanta Braves back in 2011.Last year, the Colombian posted an impressive 14-8 record with a 3.20 ERA in 30 starts. However, this year, Teheran has been one of the top pitchers in the entire National League."
Check out Mark Townsend of Yahoo’s Big League Stew, as he recaps the walk off win achieved by Atlanta Braves’ Freddie Freeman, in game 1 of the current series with the Chicago Cubs.
The Grand Slam: Freddie Freeman rescues Braves with walkoff single
"The Chicago Cubs picked their poison on Friday night. With the winning run on second and first base open, manager Rick Renteria elected to pass on Justin Upton to bring up Freddie Freeman. With one swing, Atlanta’s $135 million man made them pay by lashing a single up the middle to score Jason Heyward and give Atlanta a 3-2, 10-inning victory."
Bill Baer of NBC’s Hardball Talk reports that Atlanta Braves’ manager Fredi Gonzalez plans to have a sit down with Dan Uggla soon to discuss his future, so to speak. Read Bill Baer’s take on this…
Fredi Gonzalez plans to discuss Dan Uggla’s future soon
"Braves second baseman Dan Uggla was not in the lineup for Friday night’s game against Cubs right-handed starter Jason Hammel. It was the fifth time in 10 games that manager Fredi Gonzalez had someone else’s name at second base instead of Uggla’s."
Joe Morgan of MLB takes a look at the pitching matchup for tonight’s game against the Chicago Cub’s Jeff Samardzjia and Atlanta Braves’ Ervin Santana. Take a read…
Samardzjia faces Braves still searching for first win
Santana returns to hill after missing start with bruised right thumb
"Jeff Samardzija has not earned a win since Aug. 24, 2013. When he pitches opposite Braves starter Ervin Santana on Saturday night at Turner Field, the Cubs will try to end their ace’s unfortunate and uncanny skid.In 13 starts since his last victory, Samardzija has made nine quality starts, struck out 77 batters and owns a 3.40 ERA. However, the Cubs are only 2-11 in those games, including four straight losses."
Nicholas Ian Allen of one of our sister sites, Grading On The Curve, takes a look at goings-on in the Southern League, where our Mississippi Braves call home. Take a look at some of the highlights Nicholas shares…
Week in Review: Southern League
"The Mississippi Braves got nice offensive performances from a pair of infield prospects. Third baseman Kyle Kubitza had a pair of three-hit games, as well as two two-hit contests, pushing his line upwards to .270/.345/.430. Shortstop Elmer Reyes hit safely in five of seven games and drove in five runs."