Atlanta Braves: The Morning Chop
By Jeff Schafer
Tomahawk Take Editor Notes: Jason Heyward continues to swing a hot bat for the Braves and picks up two more hits on Sunday. Freddie Freeman was able to get a huge single in the top of the 9th inning to get on base for Evan Gattis‘ two-run homer to put the Braves on top. Aaron Harang pitched great again on Sunday and gave the Braves the quality start they needed. And look at young Shae Simmons picking up his first career MLB save. The Braves have the day off on Monday and will be back at it again on Tuesday at Turner Field.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Heyward RF | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .251 | .702 |
| B.J. Upton CF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .216 | .634 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .297 | .900 |
| Evan Gattis C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .252 | .828 |
| Ryan Doumit LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .203 | .509 |
| Shae Simmons P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Chris Johnson 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .251 | .598 |
| Tommy La Stella 2B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .400 | .871 |
| Alex Wood P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .143 |
| Jordan Schafer PH-LF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .133 | .412 |
| Andrelton Simmons SS | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .267 | .695 |
| Aaron Harang P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .050 | .145 |
| Ramiro Pena 2B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .200 | .588 |
| Team Totals | 34 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 6 | .265 | .639 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Harang | 6.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3.24 |
| Alex Wood, W (5-5) | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.32 |
| Shae Simmons, S (1) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2.00 |
Braves restore order in NL East with sweep of Marlins
Tomahawk Take Editor Notes: The Braves came into the Marlins series after getting the wind knocked out of their sails by the Boston Red Sox. They rejuvenated themselves by sweeping the talented Marlins team in Miami. This hopefully gives the Braves the confidence to go on a little roll as we approach the summer months.
Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
They headed back to Miami for this series tied with the Marlins for the division lead, just the second time since April 15 Atlanta didn’t sit atop the East outright. Add in Atlanta’s struggles and that the Marlins started Friday with more home wins (20) than any team in the majors, the chances of leaving Florida with the East lead were daunting.
But the Braves bounced back and took a three-game division lead by outscoring the Marlins 16-9 and pounded out 29 hits — with just one home run — and provided that offense with Freddie Freeman getting two hits in 12 at-bats and Justin Upton delivering just one in eight chances.
Addition of Tommy La Stella Gives Atlanta Braves Time to Improve
Tomahawk Take Editor Notes: TLS has been quite the improvement at the second base position in the Braves lineup. His fielding at times is average but what the Braves need is his bat. Through the five games he has played in since being called up, Tommy is batting .400 and continues to get timely hits for the Braves. With him getting on base, it takes away some of the pressure being put on other Braves members.
Few understand just how important the consistent hits of Chris Johnson were last season but that impact was way underestimated as we have seen so far this season. Not having Johnson there to get on base every three or four times at the plate has been a big gap. He didn’t hit that many home runs or drive in a thousand runs but that ability to get hits all the time matters. With La Stella in the batting order, the Braves have someone else that is able to do that.
It will give Johnson and the rest of the team a chance to get fully through their early season funk. Less pressure is on B.J. Upton. Actually he and Jason Heyward have been clearly helped by the presence of someone else on base in the last few games. This addition has been nothing short of absolutely huge so far. Thankfully, the fact that he is taking over at a position that has been terrible offensively over the past few years should mean that his impact is not overlooked the way Johnson’s was last season.
Glenn Hubbard’s life in baseball: 38 straight seasons
Tomahawk Take Editor Notes: Hubbard spent 34 years inside the Atlanta Braves organization as a player and coach, minors and majors, but after the 2010 season, he was let go. Glenn is now the first base coach of the Lexington (Kentucky) Legends, the Single-A affiliate for the Kansas City Royals.
When Bobby Cox retired as the Braves’ manager in 2010, he had to deal with the shock and adjustment of leaving the organization.
“It was disappointing after being with them for (34) years,” he said. “I knew there were going to be some changes, so I asked for a minor league job, but (Atlanta general manager) Frank Wren told me there were no openings.
“But the day I was let go, the Royals called.”