Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop and Box Score 7/26
By Jeff Schafer
Tomahawk Take Editor Notes: You can count how many hits the Braves had on Friday on one hand…four hits!! Freddie Freeman had two hits and Jason Heyward and Andrelton Simmons each had one hit. The Braves did have six walks…so add it up and you get 10 runners on base. In the 8th inning, the Padres bullpen allowed three walks to load the bases but then Chris Johnson swung on the first pitch and popped out. FIRST PITCH!!!
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B.J. Upton CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | .214 | .281 | .338 | .618 |
| Tommy La Stella 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .276 | .345 | .346 | .691 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .283 | .373 | .480 | .853 |
| Justin Upton LF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .286 | .356 | .507 | .863 |
| Jason Heyward RF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | .260 | .347 | .379 | .726 |
| Evan Gattis C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .278 | .333 | .532 | .865 |
| Chris Johnson 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .274 | .296 | .385 | .681 |
| Andrelton Simmons SS | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .258 | .304 | .351 | .654 |
| Alex Wood P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .050 | .136 | .050 | .186 |
| Tyler Pastornicky PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .200 | .304 | .250 | .554 |
| David Hale P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .067 | .063 | .067 | .129 |
| Jordan Schafer PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .167 | .250 | .222 | .472 |
| Chasen Shreve P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Shae Simmons P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Ryan Doumit PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .202 | .238 | .313 | .551 |
| Team Totals | 29 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 37 | .138 | .278 | .207 | .485 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Wood, L (7-8) | 5 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3.44 |
| David Hale | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.66 |
| Chasen Shreve | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Shae Simmons | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.95 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 4.00 |
Wood tagged as Braves can’t cash in vs. Padres
Tomahawk Take Editor Notes: Andrelton Simmons can’t get to EVERY ground ball, though he does get to a lot, and the Padres were able to sneak many through the infield Friday night. Fredi Gonzalez said after the game “I’ve never seen so many ground balls go through the infield”. Alex Wood gave up a career high 12 hits and allowed five runs to cross the plate…four earned runs. Wood struck out four and walked just one hitter. Alex is now 7-8 after a Friday loss.
"Meanwhile, Washington won on Friday, increasing their NL East lead to 2 1/2 games over the second-place Braves, whose inconsistent offense has scored two runs or fewer in four games and five runs or more in the other four games since the All-Star break.“We’ve got to score runs,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “We’ve got to keep the line moving. We’re not doing that right now, so that’s one of the things we’ve got to do. Get a couple of guys on and get that big hit, so everybody relaxes and calms down. Then everybody’s got to go out there and have some fun playing some baseball again.”A typical lack of run support for Alex Wood magnified the southpaw’s atypical showing. He surrendered five runs (four earned) on a career-high 12 hits in five innings. Eleven of the 12 hits were singles."
Padres’ rookie shuts down Braves
Tomahawk Take Editor Notes: Jess Hahn has had a fantastic rookie campaign and took another step against the Braves on Friday. The Braves forgot to watch any tape on Hahn or get any scouting reports on this young pitcher. The Braves were beaten around by singles and great pitching. With the loss, Atlanta falls to 2 and 1/2 games behind Washington in the NL East.
"Rookie Jesse Hahn allowed only three hits in six innings to remain unbeaten on the road and the San Diego Padres beat Atlanta 5-2 on Friday night to continue their recent success against the Braves.Hahn (6-2) allowed one run as he improved to 4-0 in four road starts.The Padres had 13 hits — 12 singles — to beat Alex Wood (7-8). Tommy Medica drove in a run and had a career-high four hits. Chris Denorfia had three hits and an RBI for San Diego.The Padres, who were 5-1 against the Braves in 2013, have won five of their last six series against Atlanta since early in 2011."
Venters nearly ready to throw bullpen sessions
Tomahawk Take Editor Notes: A lefty that could help the Braves internally is Jonny Venters…the Jonny of years ago. With Venters just now beginning to throw, he’s probably weeks away from even thinking of a return to Atlanta. A left-handed bullpen pitcher is exactly what the Braves need.
"Although there is still no timetable for Jonny Venters to return to the Braves’ bullpen, he has made progress since receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection in early June. Venters threw from 100 feet on flat ground on Friday, and he could begin bullpen sessions soon.“We’re looking for him to throw bullpens on the road,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “I don’t know the exact dates of those bullpens, but we’re looking to get him on the mound here on the road.”Gonzalez anticipates that early bullpen sessions for Venters would be between 10-20 pitches as the southpaw regains a feel for pitching off the rubber. Venters has felt good since he resumed throwing on July 18 following time off due to his PRP injection."