Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop
By Jeff Schafer
Tomahawk Take Editor Notes: Ervin Santana has now lost five of his last seven games in the 2014 season. He now holds a 7-6 record with a 4.01 ERA and 1.264 WHIP. The Braves offense didn’t give any help to their pitching staff Wednesday, putting only a single run on the board. Atlanta had the tying run at the plate in the 9th inning but Tommy La Stella struck out to end the game 4-1. To avoid the brooms, the Braves must win the final game of the series Thursday night at 7:10pm E.T.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B.J. Upton CF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .217 | .280 | .345 | .625 |
| Andrelton Simmons SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .259 | .299 | .358 | .657 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .297 | .386 | .500 | .886 |
| Justin Upton LF | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .280 | .352 | .503 | .855 |
| Jason Heyward RF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .247 | .338 | .365 | .702 |
| Chris Johnson 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .273 | .296 | .352 | .648 |
| Tommy La Stella 2B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .297 | .380 | .362 | .742 |
| Gerald Laird C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .237 | .315 | .299 | .614 |
| Ervin Santana P | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .105 | .128 | .105 | .233 |
| Ryan Doumit PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .207 | .237 | .326 | .563 |
| Anthony Varvaro P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Team Totals | 33 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 34 | .242 | .265 | .273 | .537 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ervin Santana, L (7-6) | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4.01 |
| Anthony Varvaro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Team Totals | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4.50 |
Mets top Atlanta Braves 4-1 as Dillon Gee throws gem in return to major league mound
Tomahawk Take Editor Notes: Dillon Gee made his first appearance on the mound Wednesday night after a nearly two month stint on the DL with a strained right lat muscle. Gee pitched into the 8th inning keeping the Braves hitters off balance at the plate. The 28-year-old had a 2.73 ERA prior to the DL and after his first start back has lowered it to a 2.56 ERA and a 4-1 record. The Braves have now lost four straight and three straight to the Mets, they look to rebound on Thursday to avoid being swept.
"It was the fourth consecutive win for the club and fifth in six games as they tried to keep within view of the top of the National League East standings. The Mets’ offense, which has surged in the past month, was mostly dormant but broke through with three runs in the seventh as Kirk Nieuwenhuis drove in the go-ahead run and Travis d’Arnaud socked a two-run home run to give the Mets a win in a series they deemed crucial before it began.“They knew it’s very big,” manager Terry Collins said. “You let the Braves beat you down here and it’s a long climb up. We still got a long way to go.”"
Braves | James Russell and Wesley Wright being scouted
Tomahawk Take Editor Notes: Wesley Wright had the opportunity to display his skills in front of a Braves scout of Wednesday night. Wright went two innings against the Reds giving up only one hit and had two strikeouts. Reported by David O’Brien, the Braves sent one of their top scouts to Cincinnati to watch these two lefties.
"Chicago Cubs RPs James Russell and Wesley Wright are being scouted by the Atlanta Braves. The Braves are looking for a left-handed relief pitcher and have one of their top scouts following the Cubs."
Upton enjoying Final Vote experience, club’s support
Tomahawk Take Editor Notes: Twitter will be a mad house from 10am to 4pm today when fans from trying to get a player from their team into the All-Star game. The Braves fan base will obviously be using the #VoteJUp hashtag throughout the given time slot and it should fill up your twitter timeline. Upton may not have the best stats of the five nominees but he does deserve consideration for the 2014 All-Star game.
"As they wore #VoteJUP T-shirts during batting practice before Wednesday night’s game against the Mets, the Braves showed their support for Justin Upton‘s bid to win the National League portion of this year’s MLB.com Final Vote Sponsored by Experian.“Ever since I was put on the ballot, the guys have said they would do whatever they could to help me win,” Upton said. “They have been great. It’s been great to share this with them.”#VoteJUP seems destined to be one of Twitter’s most popular trending topics today, when for the third consecutive year, the All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote will include social balloting participation. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET, every Tweet that includes #VoteJUP will count as a vote for Upton."