Morning Chop: Atlanta Braves News
Check out the box scores from last night’s Atlanta Braves loss – the 4th in a row to the Boston Red Sox, and a complete sweep! Courtesy of Baseball Reference.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OPS | Pit | Str | PO | A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Heyward RF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .243 | .682 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 0 | HR |
| B.J. Upton CF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .208 | .623 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 0 | |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .305 | .923 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 2B |
| Justin Upton LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .308 | .981 | 19 | 13 | 3 | 0 | |
| Evan Gattis C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .248 | .803 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 1 | |
| Chris Johnson 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .258 | .617 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 3 | |
| Ryan Doumit DH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .217 | .530 | 13 | 10 | |||
| Jordan Schafer PR-DH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .103 | .360 | |||||
| Tommy La Stella 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .286 | .571 | 16 | 11 | 1 | 0 | SH |
| Andrelton Simmons SS | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .271 | .700 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 4 | SB |
| Mike Minor P | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| David Carpenter P | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Luis Avilan P | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Craig Kimbrel P | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Team Totals | 35 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | .257 | .649 | 120 | 79 | 24 | 11 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | BF | Pit | Str | Ctct | StS | StL | GB | FB | LD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Minor | 7 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.41 | 27 | 113 | 80 | 48 | 7 | 25 | 11 | 13 | 4 |
| David Carpenter, BS (2) | 0.1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.18 | 5 | 17 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Luis Avilan | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.76 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Kimbrel, L (0-1) | 0.1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.93 | 4 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 8 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3.38 | 38 | 155 | 104 | 62 | 9 | 33 | 13 | 17 | 7 |
Xander Bogaerts – an unusual name, and a name Braves’ fan will certainly be trying to forget this weekend. Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald shares his recap of the loss, and the series sweep.
Xander Bogaerts keys 4th win in row for Red Sox
"… Turns out, Bogaerts did better than that. He hit a smash that was knocked down by Braves third baseman Chris Johnson, whose throw could not be handled by second baseman Tommy La Stella. That allowed Jackie Bradley Jr. to score the deciding run in the Red Sox’ rousing 4-3 comeback over the Braves, their fourth consecutive win on the heels of 10 straight losses."
Check out the recap of last night’s loss, as given by David Miller of Rant Sports…
Atlanta Braves Finish Boston Red Sox Series Misery Perfectly
"It could be said that the Atlanta Braves are playing like the worst first place team in all of MLB right now and no one could argue the point. After a two and two series against the Boston Red Sox, the Braves have gone from having a head of steam to stumbling and fumbling their way to four straight losses. Though we could focus on the negative of this situation, why not look at the positives instead?"
The one ingredient missing from the dismal sweep by the Boston Red Sox was…. ? Julio Teheran! No, you can’t have Julio out there every time of course, but I’ve said and maintain he’s Atlanta’s most reliable and consistent pitcher. Joe Morgan of MLB takes a look at the upcoming series against the Miami Marlins, where Teheran will be back in action.
In first-place tie, Braves seek payback vs. Marlins
"… But as Atlanta returns to South Florida, the Marlins will have to reckon with a guy who shut them down in a stellar start on April 21 at Turner Field. Julio Teheran on Friday will get his second crack at the Marlins, who have the best home record in the Majors at 20-8. Miami is tied with Atlanta for first place in the National League East."
Walter Bergeson of Rant Sports takes a look at Justin Upton‘s hot streak, and balanced approach at the plate.
Atlanta Braves’ Justin Upton Taking Balanced Approach During Recent Hot Streak
"Since joining the Atlanta Braves before the 2013 season, Justin Upton has been an incredibly streaky hitter. In his first month with the team, he hit .298 with an MLB leading 12 home runs. He hit only .218 with just three homers in the two months after that. The enigmatic left fielder has put together another solid month at the plate this May, hitting .292 with five home runs. The reasons for his recent success are that he’s chasing few pitches out of the strike zone and he’s hitting the ball to all fields."