Morning Chop: Atlanta Braves News 5/15/14
May 14, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; Atlanta Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons (19) visits starting pitcher Julio Teheran (49) on the mound against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Well, after a 5 run shutout on Tuesday night against the San Francisco Giants (refreshing to see 5 runs by the Braves!), the Atlanta Braves lost again, and lost the series against the Giants. More concerning is the strange problems with gripping the baseball that Julio Teheran is having. I’m sure we’ll learn more about that soon. Check out the boxscores from last night’s loss, courtesy of Baseball Reference.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OPS | Pit | Str | PO | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler Pastornicky 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .208 | .561 | 16 | 12 | 2 | 3 |
| Justin Upton LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .279 | .898 | 19 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .307 | .899 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Evan Gattis C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .259 | .817 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 1 |
| Chris Johnson 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .279 | .663 | 18 | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| B.J. Upton CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .207 | .621 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| Jordan Schafer CF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .130 | .384 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Doumit RF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .205 | .449 | 24 | 14 | 3 | 0 |
| Andrelton Simmons SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .260 | .702 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Julio Teheran P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .095 | .190 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Wood P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .143 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Dan Uggla PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .183 | .515 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Luis Avilan P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| David Carpenter P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Team Totals | 33 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 8 | .212 | .651 | 149 | 90 | 24 | 6 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | BF | Pit | Str | Ctct | StS | StL | GB | FB | LD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julio Teheran, L (2-3) | 3.1 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2.20 | 22 | 84 | 51 | 28 | 7 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 3 |
| Alex Wood | 2.2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3.26 | 13 | 40 | 30 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 3 |
| Luis Avilan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.25 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| David Carpenter | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2.65 | 6 | 28 | 19 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| Team Totals | 8 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 10.12 | 45 | 160 | 106 | 59 | 19 | 28 | 10 | 19 | 8 |
Todd Salem, featured columnist for the Bleacher Report, shares his ideas about the five targets that Frank Wren and the Atlanta Braves should target before the trade deadline. Read Todd’s thoughts on Bleacher Report.
Braves Baseball: 5 Trade Targets GM Frank Wren Should Pursue by the Deadline
"The Atlanta Braves currently sit in first place in the National League East with a record of 22-17. Their placement in the standings, though, is more thanks to a pedestrian beginning to the season for all members of the East division. Atlanta has just a plus-six run differential for the year, which puts it outside the top 10 in the majors."
Andrew Baggarly of CSNBayArea, recaps the Atlanta Braves’ loss to the San Francisco Giants last night. Read Andrew’s take on the game…
Rewind: Blanco runs, Giants kick it old school to beat Braves
"He never stopped moving as the Giants scrapped for a 10-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Blanco walked twice, hit an RBI single, stole three bases and scored three runs. He and No.2 hitter Hunter Pence couldn’t have been more menacing without circling the pitcher’s mound. Pence had four hits, including a tying, two-run homer in the first inning as the Giants won their fifth consecutive home series."
Julio Teheran struggled, uncharacteristically, in the loss to the Giants on Wednesday night. He exited the game early, complaining of issues gripping the baseball, and talked about having had these issues before. Take a look as the Ledger-Enquirer picked up on the AP Story…
Julio Teheran struggles in Braves’ loss to Giants
"Teheran failed to make it out of the fourth inning Wednesday as the Giants pounded him and the Atlanta Braves 10-4 on a warm, windless day along San Francisco Bay.“I had a hard time with my grip here and in Los Angeles,” Teheran said. “I was trying to find a way to get through it. It’s not an excuse. It’s this type of weather. I had a hard time.”"
Talking Chop shares some important Minor League information with us, reviewing recent events, players, stats, etc. Take a look at what Ian Morris has to share, because if you’re a Braves’ fan, the minor leagues are important to follow as well!
Atlanta Braves Minor League Recap: 5/14
"Mississippi shrugged off a couple of rain delays to defeat the Montgomery Biscuits on Wednesday afternoon. Jason Hursh took the mound for the M-Braves and was okay, lasting 5.2 innings and surrendering two runs on five hits, walking three and striking out four. Hursh’s command wasn’t top notch, as evidenced by the aforementioned walks and that only 53 of his 95 pitches on the afternoon were strikes. Nevertheless, Hursh induced ground balls and got the occasional strikeout to keep Montgomery hitters in check. It wasn’t a dominant outing by any stretch of the imagination, but he kept the ball down and limited damage."