Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop and Box Score 8/14
By Jeff Schafer
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Notes: The Atlanta Braves win!! Something we haven’t said much since the 2014 All-Star game but it happened Wednesday night…against the LA Dodgers! Ervin Santana pitched great for the Braves going six innings while only allowing two runs and had nine strikeouts. Atlanta’s bullpen came in and closed out the final three innings without giving up a run and three hits. Braves look to tie the series on Thursday.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Heyward RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .267 | .352 | .386 | .738 |
| Philip Gosselin 2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .235 | .235 | .235 | .471 |
| Freddie Freeman 1B | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .290 | .377 | .481 | .858 |
| Justin Upton LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .280 | .354 | .502 | .857 |
| Evan Gattis C | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .276 | .329 | .507 | .836 |
| Chris Johnson 3B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .271 | .295 | .376 | .670 |
| Andrelton Simmons SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .249 | .297 | .339 | .636 |
| B.J. Upton CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .210 | .280 | .334 | .614 |
| Ervin Santana P | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .120 | .137 | .120 | .257 |
| Ryan Doumit PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .195 | .232 | .288 | .520 |
| David Carpenter P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Jordan Walden P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Craig Kimbrel P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Team Totals | 31 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 35 | .258 | .324 | .290 | .614 |
| Pitching | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ervin Santana, W (12-6) | 6 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 3.66 |
| David Carpenter, H (12) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.92 |
| Jordan Walden, H (16) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.17 |
| Craig Kimbrel, S (35) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.88 |
| Team Totals | 9 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 2.00 |
Kimbrel finds way in to, out of unwanted spot
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Notes: Craig Kimbrel came in for the ninth inning in a 3-2 game. Though he gave us all a scare giving up two hits and a walk, Kimbrel was able to get an inning ending double play to pick up his 35th save of the season. His ERA now sits at 1.88 for the 2014 season. Santana picked up his 12th win of the season (12-6). The Braves are now 61-59.
"Craig Kimbrel does not want to make a habit out of creating bases-loaded threats. But after escaping one that concluded Wednesday night’s 3-2 win over the Dodgers at Turner Field, the Braves’ closer was reintroduced to the rush of escaping one.When he got Matt Kemp to ground into a game-ending double play, Kimbrel pumped his right arm twice, embraced catcher Evan Gattis and displayed a bright smile that was still visible more than 30 minutes after the game concluded.“I don’t like to get that excited,” Kimbrel said. “It’s not a situation I wanted to put our team in, but I was happy we were able to work out of it.”"
Heyward returns to leadoff spot for Braves
Tomahawk Take Editor’s Notes: Jason Heyward moved back to the leadoff spot on Wednesday night. He’s been hitting 5th in the batting order while Fredi Gonzalez gave B.J. Upton a chance to strive up top. He failed, so Heyward is getting penciled in to hopefully jump start the Braves offense like he did in 2013. While at the leadoff spot, he’s hit .274 with 14 home runs, 43 RBIs and 65 runs scored.
"Atlanta Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez has moved right fielder Jason Heyward back into the leadoff spot in hopes of jump-starting the team’s struggling offense.The Braves, who have lost 11 of 13 to fall five games behind NL East-leading Washington, have scored the third-fewest runs in the majors. Their 26 runs scored this month rank last.Gonzalez said he has no timetable in mind for Heyward, who began the season in the top spot in the batting order before moving to the fifth spot on June 18."
Atlanta Braves Twitter
Think this guy was excited about the game-ending double play? #ReleaseTheKimbrel, indeed. pic.twitter.com/40dHxDRf0M
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 14, 2014