Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop and Box Score 8/11
By Jeff Schafer
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Notes: The Braves move back to 3.5 games behind the Washington Nationals in the NL East divisional race with their victory Sunday night on ESPN. The Braves played well all series and with a single in a key spot, they could of swept the series. Atlanta now takes on the LA Dodgers at Turner Field starting Monday.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emilio Bonifacio CF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .281 | .322 | .368 | .690 |
| Tommy La Stella 2B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | .285 | .367 | .362 | .729 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .288 | .375 | .480 | .855 |
| Justin Upton LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | .279 | .353 | .505 | .858 |
| Jason Heyward RF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .270 | .356 | .392 | .749 |
| Chris Johnson 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .273 | .298 | .380 | .678 |
| Gerald Laird C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .224 | .302 | .288 | .590 |
| Ramiro Pena SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .218 | .290 | .319 | .609 |
| Alex Wood P | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .080 | .148 | .080 | .228 |
| David Carpenter P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Evan Gattis PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .277 | .332 | .511 | .843 |
| B.J. Upton PR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .209 | .278 | .329 | .607 |
| Craig Kimbrel P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Team Totals | 32 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 37 | .281 | .378 | .375 | .753 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Wood, W (8-9) | 7.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 3.08 |
| David Carpenter, H (11) | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.04 |
| Craig Kimbrel, S (34) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.91 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 1.00 |
Did Nats’ Harper intentionally desecrate Braves’ logo?
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note: As we talked about the other day, Bryce Harper tried to kick the dirt over the Atlanta Braves logo behind the plate. His actions looked pretty intentional but he’s claiming they weren’t. Atlanta Braves social media page noticed his actions and sent out of a tweet saying Respect the A.
"Harper himself dismissed any talk of intentionally disrespecting the Braves’ logo, but it’s highly unlikely that will satisfy Braves fans who took umbrage."
Alex Wood fans 12, Braves edge Nationals 3-1
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Notes: In probably the first ‘must win’ games for the Atlanta Braves in 2014, they came out and got the job done. With Alex Wood extremely strong on the mound, the Braves were able to win the series against he Nats and tighten up the NL East race to the playoffs.
"Wood set a career high with 12 strikeouts in 7 1-3 innings and the Braves beat Washington 3-1 on Sunday night to continue their recent success against the Nationals.Atlanta won two of three in the series to cut Washington’s lead to 3 1/2 games in the NL East. The Braves are 9-4 against the Nationals this season and 22-10 over the last two years.”It’s almost like a playoff game when we play them, no matter when it is,” Wood said. ”I think we’ve got some guys that are gamers in here and really enjoy that challenge and enjoy rising to that occasion.”"
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Dodgers-Braves Preview
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Notes: The Braves will see Kevin Correia on Monday night in the first of a three game series with the Dodgers. Correia was 5-13 with a 4.94 ERA with the Minnesota Twins in 23 starts this season. He will square off against the Braves Julio Teheran. Julio is 10-8 with a 2.92 ERA in 2014.
"The acquisition of Kevin Correia not only provides the Los Angeles Dodgers with a veteran arm, but immediately gives manager Don Mattingly a chance to give his starters some extra rest.Correia is expected to make his debut for the NL-leading Dodgers as they try to halt Julio Teheran‘s success at home for the Atlanta Braves on Monday night.Amidst 20 straight days without a day off, Los Angeles (67-52) was scheduled to start Dan Harenin this game, but instead will go with Correia, who was acquired from Minnesota on Saturday.“As of right now, we’ll use (Correia) for a spot start and out of the bullpen,” Mattingly said. “Hypothetically speaking, during this stretch of games in a row we can give our guys a bit of a breather.”"