Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop and Box Score 7/30F
By Jeff Schafer
Tomahawk Take Editor Notes: Aaron Harang pitched pretty well until the bottom of the 5th inning when he gave up a two-run homer to Matt Kemp, his first of the night. The Dodgers got to the Braves bullpen on Tuesday with four runs allowed and six hits in two innings of work. Varvaro gave up three runs while Chasen Shreve gave up one run. Tommy La Stella had another great night at the plate going 3-4 with a run scored and a walk. His batting average now sits at .296 with an on-base percentage of .371.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B.J. Upton CF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | .217 | .283 | .337 | .620 |
| Tommy La Stella 2B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | .296 | .371 | .367 | .738 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | .285 | .376 | .482 | .857 |
| Justin Upton LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | .282 | .351 | .497 | .848 |
| Evan Gattis C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | .287 | .347 | .547 | .893 |
| Chris Johnson 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | .278 | .301 | .390 | .690 |
| Ryan Doumit RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .193 | .233 | .294 | .526 |
| Jordan Schafer PR-RF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .169 | .256 | .221 | .477 |
| Andrelton Simmons SS | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | .256 | .304 | .351 | .655 |
| Aaron Harang P | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .077 | .100 | .077 | .177 |
| Anthony Varvaro P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Ramiro Pena PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .206 | .270 | .324 | .594 |
| Chasen Shreve P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Juan Jaime P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Philip Gosselin PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .167 | .167 | .167 | .333 |
| Team Totals | 37 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 45 | .324 | .422 | .486 | .909 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Harang | 6 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3.43 |
| Anthony Varvaro, L (3-3) | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2.83 |
| Chasen Shreve | 0.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1.80 |
| Juan Jaime | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.08 |
| Team Totals | 8 | 15 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 9.00 |
Braves drop first game of long West Coast swing
Tomahawk Take Editor Notes: Believe it or not but Anthony Varvaro has been a positive for the Braves in 2014 out of the bullpen. Tuesday though, he faced one of the best teams in the MLB. In the 7th inning, facing Matt Kemp, Kemp won the battle as he basted his second home run of the game. This put the score at 7-4.
"With the game tied at four, Braves starter Aaron Harang fought his way through the sixth inning before handing the ball to the righty reliever Varvaro. That’s usally a safe strategy for Atlanta.In 40 1/3 innings of work this season, headed into Tuesday’s game, Varvaro had a 2.23 ERA and had only given up 10 earned runs and two homers. Over the last six weeks, Varvaro had appeared in 17 games and posted a chest-pumping 1.04 ERA."
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Atlanta Braves Trade Rumors: Latest on David Price, Andrew Miller and More
Tomahawk Take Editor Notes: The under 24 hour countdown until July 31st trade deadline is becoming closer and closer. Sellers are looking to get as much as they can while buyers are trying to give up as least as they can. The Braves have had rumors all over the board in the last few weeks but a name that continues to pop up is David Price.
"Both starters have been the subject of trade rumors recently, though it’s unclear which starter the Braves were in attendance for. Maybe it was both. Maybe it was just one of the two. Regardless, it appears that Atlanta isn’t comfortable with its rotation of Julio Teheran, Mike Minor, Ervin Santana, Aaron Harang and Alex Wood.Both starters would be upgrades to the rotation. That said, the price may simply be too high for the Braves, and not only because of each left-hander’s pedigree. Their numbers this season are also superb:The Braves have good talent in the farm system to deal, but acquiring starting pitching should not be the priority right now. Sure, it’s hard to argue with bringing in one of the two aforementioned aces, but shoring up other areas instead of masking them is paramount."